


Written in the Stars

by coolpointsetta



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Blood, Diety AU, Everyone is a God, F/M, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Character Death, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Smut, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Unconventional Families, Vague mentions of cruel and unusual deaths, Violence, a drop of angst, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:15:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 86,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26196235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolpointsetta/pseuds/coolpointsetta
Summary: Wheeljack has never believed in much; faith has never been something that comes easy to him. One thing that hedoesbelieve in is himself. He's an engineer, and a damn good one at that. On his off days, he loves to travel the galaxy and find new and exciting planets, to share technology. However, one of his missions goes sideways, and he's stuck between these people who call themselves Gods and an impending evil that is getting closer by the day. Everyone seems to want something from him and he can't decide to leave or to stay. Oh, but at least that big green one with the blue eyes is really cute.
Relationships: Arcee & Jack Darby, Arcee/Cliffjumper (Transformers), Breakdown/Knock Out, Bulkhead & Miko Nakadai, Bulkhead/Wheeljack, Bumblebee & Rafael "Raf" Esquivel, Bumblebee/Smokescreen, Dreadwing/Ultra Magnus (Transformers), Optimus Prime/Ratchet, Starscream/Soundwave, Wheeljack & Miko Nakadai, one sided Wheeljack/Ultra Magnus
Comments: 13
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> I've been keeping this one in the drafts for a long time, editing it and drafting it up, but I finally decided to post it. This is my first time writing/posting a multichapter fic and honestly I'm a little nervous. I would love any feedback you guys have and I hope you all enjoy!

Ratchet had been alive for a very, very long time. As a result of his long life, he'd seen a lot, witnessed a lot. He'd experienced so many new things he'd lost track of them all. He'd changed his daily routine so many times he was confident that not one thing had been kept the same. Some of the things he'd added or taken out of his routine he'd loved, some of them he hated. 

He'd never imagined that his favorite part of the day would be to tell bedtime stories to the tiny little organic children who lived in the village. 

"Come _on_ Ratchet! One more please!" The young girl with black hair begged, clasping her hands in front of her face and giving Ratchet the best puppy dog eyes she could muster. Ratchet chuckled and was tempted to say no; he'd already told several stories and he knew Optimus would be waiting for him, should he ever escape the children. 

"Oh, I don't know. It is far past your bedtime and you will all need to get up early to do your chores," Ratchet tried to reason, but he had secretly already given in. The small girl pouted even more, and the young brunette boy next to her joined in, taking off his glasses for extra effect. 

The older boy on the girl's right rolled his eyes, but Ratchet could tell he wanted a story just as bad. 

Ratchet sighed, a small chuckle escaping him. "Alright, alright. One more, but that's the last one, understood?" 

All three children cheered, and Ratchet smiled a little more. The children settled themselves further into their blankets, eager to hear one last story before they fell asleep. 

"Which one would you like to hear?" Ratchet asked, but he had a feeling he already knew the answer. 

"The Adventure One! With Cybertron and Primus and Unicron!" The young girl hollered, grabbing one of the older boy's pillows out from behind him and holding on tight. The boy grunted but said nothing, a small smile on his face. 

Ratchet nodded. "Well, if you insist." He adjusted himself on the large rocking chair he was sitting on, and began his story. 

"Many, many years ago, in a galaxy far from this one, lived an immensely powerful being named Primus. He was a deity of immeasurable power and strength, but also goodness. He traveled the galaxy and created stars and planets and creatures of all shapes and kinds as went, breathing life into the universe. 

But Primus carried a dark shadow with him at all times. His brother, Unicron, was also an immensely powerful being who had unmatched strength and talents, tied to only his brother. But while Primus created life, Unicron destroyed it. 

Unicron followed behind Primus wherever he went, tainting his beloved planets with darkness or destroying them all together. He would fill the formerly kind and benevolent beings with hatred and watch in amusement as they tore each other apart, and their planet destroyed itself from the inside out.

His brother knew what Unicron was doing, but instead of fighting his brother, he countered the evil by creating more life, hoping that Unicron would eventually leave his creations alone. He prayed they would not come to war over the destruction of Primus's creations. 

One day, after many long years of creating life, Primus became tired. He loved his work and he wished to continue, but more than he loved his work he was sick of his brother ruining his perfect creations. He soon arrived to a remote corner of the galaxy, where he decided to create a planet and life forms of his own image. 

These new beings, unlike Primus's other creations, were gifted with small fractions of Primus's power, able to harness the wind or captivate the world with beautiful music. He gave them all personalities and abilities to develop together and grow. 

Primus then gave his children a home to live by creating a planet of his own body, becoming the very core of the planet itself. Primus could still interact with his children and provide council, but he was unwilling to take any physical action in helping his children.

A few millennia after Primus became half dormant, Unicron appeared at his brother's planet, which the children had named Cybertron. 

Unicron, despite his actions, cared deeply about his brother and was saddened by the loss of his brother's physical form. For his acts of destroying his brother's creation were really only to gain his brother's attention." 

"That's really the wrong way to do it." The young boy interjected, a yawn escaping him. 

"No interruptions," Ratchet barked, ans the children all giggled. The red and white mech took a deep breath and continued. 

"In his anger and sadness, he attempted to destroy Cybertron in the hopes that Primus would emerge and Unicron could see his beloved brother once more. 

His plans did not exactly work out that way. 

When Unicron attempted to destroy Primus and Cybertron, the super powered children rose up to defend their home. They fought back against Unicron, able to take him on with the power given to them by Primus. 

Unicron knew this would be a losing battle on his own, so he created children of his own to help him fight the war. His children, like the Children of Primus, carried small pieces of his powers and were able to even the odds. They were fierce, emotionless, faceless, and perfectly obedient to Unicron. 

Despite his best efforts, after thousands of years of war, Unicron was defeated. 

He couldn't be killed, not even by Primus himself. So the being was cast out into the stars, never to be heard from again. As for his children, they were not so easily dismissed.

They set a dreadful curse on the Children of Primus, a way to bind the two races together.

No matter where the Children of Primus would flee too, the Children of Unicron would for surely follow. If they were banished to the stars and the Children of Primus left Cybertron, the Children of Unicron would eventually catch up, and destroy them. 

The Children of Primus - who now called themselves _Gods_ \- put the Children of Unicron - who now went by _Titans_ \- into stasis and launched them to the stars, before they reluctantly left their planet.

However, before they left, Primus gave them a message. 

He foretold of a mech from the new generation of Cybertron who would bear the power of fire, would find the Gods on whatever planet they landed on, and help them defeat the Titans forever, never to have to worry about being followed or destroyed ever again. 

The Gods were given a renewed sense of hope, making it slightly easier for them to leave Primus. 

When the Gods left Cybertron, Primus performed his last act. 

He created a new generation of mecha on Cybertron, with personalities and abilities to love and hate and be alive. However, due to Primus's weakness of having just endured a war on his surface, wasn't able to give his new children powers. He instead made sure there was no memory of signs that the Gods had once lived on Cybertron as well, and the new people went about their lives, growing and expanding their knowledge. 

At some point on their journey, the Gods arrived at a planet that was uninhabited, and was the perfect place to live. It was decided that half of the Gods would remain there, while others stayed on their ship to continue to try and find another home. 

Meanwhile, after a long journey, the Gods crash landed on a far away planet known as Valeran. Valeran was home to a small community of organic life forms; much smaller than the Gods and without the special powers. They were originally hesitant of the Gods and their special abilities, but they agreed to a sort of business arrangement: the Gods could take haven on their planet, as long as they provided good crops and good weather (and never rose up against the people and slaughtered them all, but that went without saying). 

Valeran was also a part of a interplanetary agreement that provided them protection and technology. A few of the Gods left to live on the different planets, in hopes of learning more about the different organic life forms there. 

Over time, the Gods' deal with Valerans became less of a business arrangement and more of a happy and mutually beneficial relationship. The Gods grew increasingly fond of the small band of people, becoming friends and even family with a few of them. The two factions began to work together, and the Valerans provided the Gods with massive temples in their honor and many artworks and other things worthy of a God. 

Some of the Valerans did not agree with bringing these massive, extremely powerful beings into their home; uniting under one leader: Silas, the leader of the small military the Valeran community had. Those who agreed with him grabbed many supplies in the night and left their village, determined to do whatever it took to expel these Gods from their home. 

Several years passed, and for the first time since Unicorn's defeat, the Gods felt as if they had found a place to call home, a place they could live out their long lives; happy and free. The Gods lived peacefully in Valeran Village, in temples created for them, in a place they loved and cherished. 

However, they knew that their time of freedom and peace was running short.

But the Gods are not afraid, because they remember the words Primus told them," The red and white God smiled down at the small children laying curled up in their beds. "and they know that someone from Cybertron will soon come, and help them stop the children of Unicron, once and for all." 

"That story never gets old, Ratchet." The small boy whispered, his words becoming slurred with sleep. "Goodnight." 

Ratchet let out a small chuckle and lifted his servo. He stood up from his rocking chair, and as soon as he did so, the wood and fabric vanished into thin air. 

"Sleep well, Rafael." Ratchet whispered, before he walked away back to his own temple towards the back of the village. 

He wasn't surprised to see his bonded waiting up for him, a glass of water in his servo. 

"You should be in bed, Optimus." Ratchet protested. "I know you're on the first patrol tomorrow with Arcee and Smokescreen, you'll need _some_ rest before you go and check on MECH. Primus knows they've become bolder." 

Optimus, the taller red and blue God hummed in agreement. He allowed his digits to loosen around his glass, and when the cup fell, it dissipated into a thousand tiny shards before anything hit the ground. 

Ratchet and his bonded made their way back into their temple, fingers interlocked. 

The inside of their temple was beautifully decorated, with paintings on the walls and ceilings that moved in a constant action, resetting themselves after a certain period. There were pictures of the entire God family; the large and happy one that it was. On one wall there was a large berth, with two little tables on either side. There was a few other pieces of furniture, but they didn't lay in their temple for long periods of time, so furniture wasn't really needed. 

"MECH has most definitely become increasingly bold, I will not deny that. But I find that I cannot sleep without you here." Optimus leaned forward and kissed Ratchet on the cheek and pulled them down into their berth, a warm smile on his face. 

"You need rest," Ratchet repeated as he pulled the sheets over their bodies and cuddled up against the taller mech. 

Silence settled between them as neither mech fell into slumber, and they both knew it. 

"The more times I tell the story," Ratchet whispered. "the more it sounds like one. It sounds like we live in some fairy tale reality; waiting to be saved by some mech whose only power is the one that serves to only destroy." 

Optimus pressed a soft hiss to Ratchet's shoulder. "As far as we know," Optimus argued. "Primus could have gifted him with the ability to use his power wisely."

"Unlikely." Ratchet scoffed. "The mech is probably _powerless_ ; a cruel joke by Primus himself. He always did have the sickest sense of humor." 

Optimus said nothing. 

Ratchet sighed, closing his optics. "Bumblebee received another vision yesterday." The God whispered, his voice scared and tired. "He said the Titans have awoken from their stasis lock and have picked up our trail." 

"Did he say how much time we have?" 

"No, he only knows that they are far away from Cybertron, and even in a large ship it took us several light years to find this planet." Ratchet paused. "We have no way of knowing when they will arrive." 

"My darling," Optimus whispered softly. "do not fret." 

"How can I not, Optimus? The mech from Cybertron has not yet arrived here on Valeran, and I'm starting to have doubts he ever will. Primus _knew_ the only way to get us away from Cybertron was to give us some form of hope, and he did that through his little prophecy." Ratchet rolled over so he was facing his lover. 

"Just because the mech from Cybertron has not arrived yet does not mean he will not." 

"Optimus, I know you think -" 

"Ratchet," Optimus interrupted. "I have had my doubts about the prophecy as well, and I agree that, on occasion, Primus did give us false hopes. But I do not believe this is one of those times. We know Primus created his second generation on Cybertron, and it would stand to reason that one of them contains the power of Primus within him." 

Ratchet sighed. "We do not have forever, Optimus. Sooner or later the Titans will be here, and I do not know what will happen when they do." 

Optimus sighed and hugged his lover closer to his chest, and Ratchet hummed as he pressed against Optimus's beating spark, the constant rhythm calming to him. "We are fighters, my love. We will be fine. Our future is still secure." 

"I want to believe you, Optimus…" Ratchet slurred out, his voice becoming thick with sleep. "but what if you're wrong?" 

Optimus didn't answer, but it didn't matter. Ratchet fell asleep a few seconds after the words left his mouth. 

Optimus pressed a soft kiss to Ratchet's cheek and held him closer. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

7:00 A.M. That's when Wheeljack started his day. 

Every morning, he dragged - dragged was a little too nice of a word, he usually fell off the side - himself out of his _very_ comfortable and warm berth to make himself three cups of coffee; two to have right away and one that would be stored in his thermos for work. He'd make himself look as presentable as possible without trying too hard - he worked in a engineering lab for Pit's sake, he wasn't about to dress up - water his little plants, and then he'd leave. 

On the way to work, he'd always stop by a little public market and pick out a scone for his breakfast, and then he'd pick up his lunch from a booth a few steps down. He'd gotten his breakfast and lunch there so many times he was considered a regular, and had started to become very good friends with the owners. 

The way Cybertronians developed their process of making energon into fuel for consumption had changed a lot in the past few years, going from regular old cubes to more organic food, picked up by a few travelers who journeyed to far away planets that consumed organic meals. Wheeljack wasn't complaining, he liked his energon scones and grilled cheese sandwiches much better than regular old cubes. 

After he would get his lunch and breakfast, he would transform and drive the rest of the way to his workplace, the finest engineering building on Cybertron. He'd been working at this place for nearly a hundred years, and he loved every second of it. 

Well, every second that Brainstorm _wasn't_ rambling about his 'fantastic' love life. 

Wheeljack could hear the scientist's loud voice through the door as he pressed his key card against the console, and he wasn't surprised when the door opened to reveal Brainstorm talking loudly to Skyfire, while the tall white mech was too polite to tell him to shut up. 

"…He took us to the new Science Museum that opened up, and it is _totally_ worth the couple hundred credits he probably spent on the tickets! _So_ interesting, especially if you know a thing or two about a thing or two, which I _do_. I do happen to know a thing or two about a lot of things." Brainstorm said loudly as Skyfire nodded along. The tall mech had two beakers in his servos that he was clearly attempting to work with, but he was unable to properly focus on. Brainstorm's ramblings had a habit of slowing down the work day. 

Wheeljack rolled his optics and tossed his lunch into the mini fridge they had, and took a large bite of his scone. His shift didn't technically start for another three minutes, so right now he was praying that Brainstorm's rambling helped the time slow a little. 

Brainstorm looked up and his optics brightened. His wings gave a small twitch in delight as he realized there was now another member of his audience. "Mornin', Wheeljack! How much of that did you hear?" 

"Science museum." Wheeljack grumbled around his mouth full of scone. Skyfire sent him a glare and muttered something about 'bad manners', and Wheeljack settled for chewing louder and with his mouth open. "You said it was worth it, right? I've been wantin' to go there for a while." 

"Pit yeah it's worth it!" Brainstorm hopped off the counter he had been sitting on. "You should totally come with us next time." 

Wheeljack shook his head. "Yeah, no. I ain't interested in third wheelin' you two, Brainy." 

"Not even if we paid for your tickets?" 

"Nope. Because then it'll just be like the amusement park, where I had to cover you two as you ripped the paint off each other in the bathroom." 

"Kill joy." 

"Horny." 

"Alright, alright." Skyfire chimed in, chuckling a little. "We officially start work now, let's get these experiments done today, shall we?" 

Brainstorm nodded eagerly and Wheeljack shoved the last of his scone into his mouth, and they joined Skyfire over by his station. They were trying to make a new form of Cybermatter that would be stronger and more stable in formula, but also easily accessible to the masses. They had been working on this project for weeks with little progress, but they were finally starting to get somewhere. 

Wheeljack didn't look up as the fourth and final member of their team walked into the lab, but by the footstep pattern he could tell it was Perceptor. 

"You started without me?" Perceptor asked as Wheeljack snapped his mask into place. He already gotten a few scars across the lips a few times after experiments gone wrong, and he wasn't about to gain another. 

"You're just in time." Skyfire promised, holding up the beakers to optic level. "Brainstorm, how do we look?" 

Brainstorm wrote a few things down on a data pad and gave Skyfire a thumbs up. "Both substances are stable, no sign of early reactions." 

Wheeljack took his place beside Perceptor, and they waited anxiously for Skyfire to mix the two liquids. 

"Here goes nothing," Skyfire whispered, and poured the two liquids in a large bowl. 

The two substances merged to create a light yellow color, complete with some bubbles. Nothing fizzed, nothing imploded. 

Wheeljack held his breath as the compound started to steam. 

There was a small _boom_ and a puff of smoke causing Wheeljack and the other scientists to look away, but when they looked back, there was gray metal coming out of the sides of the container, reaching up towards the ceiling like a twisted sort of plant. 

No one said anything for a moment, all staring in shock. 

Then, all in unison, the four mechs clapped and cheered; Brainstorm and Perceptor locked lips in a kiss and Skyfire and Wheeljack gave each other a high five, laughing and celebrating a job well done. 

"Finally!" Perceptor exclaimed. "After so many weeks of fruitless results, we have finally created Cybermatter."

Skyfire picked up the metal carefully, flinching back a little as it was still hot to the touch. He carried the metal and placed it inside a machine, humming as he inspected it a little bit as he walked. "We will still need to run extensive tests on this material." He stated, and some of the excitement in the room faded at the prospect of performing more tests.

"True, it does hafta be strong 'nough to be used in construction." Wheeljack pointed out as he back tracked to his desk to continue working on plans for the city, using this new metal. 

"Oh, Wheeljack, the furnace isn't starting again, would you mind?" Skyfire asked, and Wheeljack turned on his heel to walk over by his tall friend. 

Skyfire stepped away to talk to Brainstorm and Perceptor about the next round of trials, and Wheeljack turned his attention to the furnace. The new Cybermatter was placed on a small silver platform in the center, but when Wheeljack stuck his servo inside, the box was nearly room temperature. 

They'd been meaning to get a new furnace, since no one but Wheeljack could get it running. However, they figured they'd save their company a few credits and just continue to let Wheeljack work his magic. 

_Magic_ indeed. 

Wheeljack glanced over his shoulder to make sure his friends weren't looking at him, before he redirected his attention back to the furnace. He stuck his hand inside, closed his optics, and concentrated. 

Within moments, Wheeljack's fingertips ignited with a red hot flame, which in turn got the rest of the furnace working. Wheeljack pulled his hand out of the box, and shook it off, the last of his fire fading as if he'd caught fire, not started it. 

Wheeljack wasn't sure _when_ he developed his fire abilities; he'd had them for as long as he could remember. He'd been too scared to tell his carrier and sire about it, so he kept it a secret. No sense in having people look at him different or try and convince him to be a lab rat if there wasn't necessarily anything _wrong_ with him. 

"Thank you, Wheeljack." Perceptor said after he realized the furnace had started up. 

"He does it again." Brainstorm sneered, and Wheeljack flipped him the bird. 

The rest of the day passed in a blur for Wheeljack; most days did. He stayed at his desk most of the time, calling his superiors and reporting they had a breakthrough with the Cybermatter. He occasionally got up to help the others perform basic tests, and laughed and teased Perceptor the rest of the workday when one of the tests backfired and stained his chest pink and white. 

They began to clean up for the day at 5:30 like they always did. Perceptor and Brainstorm left together, side by side and talking a mile a minute about more tests and experiments to run next week. It was only Wheeljack and Skyfire who were left, putting the last materials away and cleaning the last of the beakers. 

"So, Wheeljack," Skyfire asked after a few moment's silence. "what are your plans for the weekend?" 

Wheeljack rocked on his pedes a little as he reached up to place a beaker on the top shelf. "I'm usin' some of my off days to go on another trip." 

"Oh," Wheeljack couldn't figure if Skyfire was disappointed or not. "Where will you be traveling to?" 

"Not sure," Wheeljack chuckled. "That's the joy of my trips, Sky. I turn on autopilot and see where I end up in a day or two." 

Skyfire picked up his bags from the floor and offered Wheeljack a soft smile. "I hope you have fun on your journey, Wheeljack. I will see you when you get back?" 

Wheeljack waved him off, but it was still a tender gesture. "'Course you will." 

Skyfire gave one last nod and walked out the door, the metal panels closing automatically behind him. 

Wheeljack left about fifteen minutes after him, grabbing his thermos that was still a quarter filled with lukewarm coffee. He got a text message on his phone and checked who sent it, and a smile came to his face. 

_Meeting at MaccAdam's. Wanna come?_ Impactor had asked. 

_Be right there. Buy me a round, will ya?_

Wheeljack walked out of the lab and kept a quick pace, waving goodbye to a few of the janitors and members of other specialties as he walked past. He got into the first elevator and was on the ground floor in less than a minute. 

The roads were suspiciously quiet for six o clock, but Wheeljack gripped his thermos a little tighter and kept walking. MaccAdam's wasn't too far away. 

Wheeljack would never admit to it to anyone, but he was in a funk. The kind of funk that comes from doing the same thing for so long you don't know you're doing it anymore. All of his days were the same: wake up at seven, work until five thirty, come home at nine after a night out with some friends. Sometimes he went on dates, but nothing more than a one night stand would result from said date. 

Wheeljack took his shortcut, cutting through a dark alley where there was even less people, but Wheeljack supposed that was a good thing. The less people in dark alleys, the better. 

Some clanked behind him, and Wheeljack whipped around, scared out of his plating. 

He was surprised to see that there was a mech standing there, tall and green with kind optics and a soft smile on his face. He was handsome in a rugged kind of way, and he looked weirdly Cybertronian, but Wheeljack had never seen this mech before, not even on his trips to Cybertron's neighboring planets. Wheeljack might have probably attempted to shoot his shot on the mech….

If he wasn't completely transparent. 

Wheeljack closed his optics and opened them again, shaking his helm a little when the mech was still there, closer even. Wheeljack took a step back and the mech stayed in place. 

"Uh, hi. Name's Wheeljack." Wheeljack said slowly. "I'm only tellin' you this 'cause I hear yer less likely to get killed if the killer knows things 'bout you." He paused as a humorous look came to the bot's face. "Are you gonna kill me?" 

His response was a shake of the head. 

"Are you gonna talk, maybe?" 

Another shaking of the head. 

Wheeljack groaned and pinched his nasal ridge with his thumb and forefinger. "Listen, I'm not the type of guy who talks to ghosts, so if you maybe wanna -" 

Wheeljack opened his optics and for the second time that night nearly hopped out of his plating. The mech had completely closed the distance between them, standing right in front of Wheeljack, so close their plating was almost touching. 

Wheeljack found himself staring into the mech's optics, well aware that he was likely a stammering mess at this point, but cut him some slack he wasn't exactly sure what was happening. 

The mech reached up a servo, and Wheeljack physically _couldn't react_ except to inwardly scream when the palm of the large hand touched his cheek, not fell through him. 

A sickening feeling settled in his gut, one that made him feel like he was going to throw up and made him want to curl up in a ball and cry. 

"Hey, Wheeljack!" 

The white and red mech turned on his heel so fast he almost got whiplash, and he was relieved to see his friends: Impactor, Springer, Whirl and Blur all standing there, waving at him. 

"You've been standing in this alley for like ten minutes pal, who ya talking to?" Whirl asked, his one optic narrowing in laughter. 

Wheeljack turned and jerked his thumb at the green mech, but he stopped as he realized the green mech was gone. "What…" 

"Did you short circuit or something'? Drinks are half off right now, and you're over here staring at the sky! Let's _go_ , buddy!" Springer laughed, motioning for Wheeljack to join them. 

Wheeljack sputtered again, giving one last glance around, looking for tall and handsome. He saw no sign of the mech anywhere, so he sighed dramatically and turned on his heel, walking towards his friends. 

'I've been around chemicals fer too long today…' Wheeljack thought and greeted his friends loudly. He smirked to himself. 'Only good solution now is to get absolutely wasted.' 

But even as Wheeljack went into the bars beside his friends in MaccAdam's, he couldn't shake the green mech from his mind. But something - maybe it was the sinking feeling he got in his gut whenever he looked back - told him the mech hadn't really left him either.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Here's chapter two for y'all. 
> 
> I just wanna thank everyone who's left kudos and has read the story so far, it's meant a lot to me. I'm hoping to keep a regular posting schedule of a new chapter every Sunday, but with school and sports I'm not sure if I'll be able to stick to it. I'll do my best! 
> 
> Enjoy!!

There was something to be said about Valeran's sunrises. No matter where anyone was in their daily activity list, no matter how many times they'd seen them in their lives, the people of the village could not help but take a moment to admire them. The sunrises were absolutely breath taking. 

Valeran had two suns that rose simultaneously from opposite sides of the planet, their bright orange and yellow colors mixing with the dark blues and blacks of the night. Pinks and reds danced among the dark gray clouds, and the sky seemed to get brighter by the second, fading in an almost ombre affect into an eggshell blue. The wildlife would would as the sun warmed their backs, and the happy songs of the birds would fill the sky with their joy. 

The sun's rays stretched onto the pond on the side of the village, even hitting the forest on the other side. 

The sunlight reflected down on a small village, warming the roofs and cobblestone walkways that connected all of the houses and shops in the cozy little town. Smoke was rising up from a few chimneys and the smell of freshly baked bread and meats filled the morning air. 

The people themselves were already awake and active, some out in the pasture with their livestock while others walked through the pathways, turning off the fire lamps from the night before. Most people waved and shouted a greeting to anyone who passed by, some falling into easy conversation, offering a loaf of bread or pastry to a small child. 

As the suns rose higher, their light stretched over the village and over the hills behind them onto the large pyramid shaped temples over the hills in a clearing. The sun highlighted all of the plants and tress growing around the temples' bases, the flowers opening almost instantly as the sunlight touched their petals. 

There were several temples; the majority of them circling the largest one in the center. Each temple was large and beautiful in its own right, personalized and special. The bricks were a light tan color, stacking up like stairs up to the top. At the top of each temple was a statue, showing who that temple was built for. 

The statues were made of stone, their coloring slightly different than the temples they stood on. Above some temples there were two statues to show that two Gods lived in said temple, but others only had one. Most of the figures were standing regally, while others were in a battle stance, but all of them were holding one hand out as if holding a tray, but there was nothing in their palm to be held. 

The sunlight rose and stretched its rays into the doorways, and a few moments later, the occupants of the temples began to emerge. Each occupants' colorful and bold plating reflected in the sunlight, causing the ground beneath them to turn the color of their plating. The temple residents greeted each other warmly, some giving hugs or kisses to each other, while others gave one last stretch before they walked down to begin their day. 

As each God left their temple, the statues came to life, shifting into a new stance as the specific power of that God appearing in its servo. On one temple, a small storm cloud appeared, while in another there was a perfect little sun, as round and bright as the ones that currently hung in the sky. 

By the time all the pinks and oranges nearly faded from the view above, the temples were all empty, their occupants gone to start the day ahead of them. 

Well, every temple except one. 

One temple, the third on the right, still had its occupant inside of it. 

The temple was laced with white roses and tall green vines that stretched up the sides of the steps. On top of the temple was a statue of a mech, feet separate in a guarding stance with one servo as a wrecking ball. In his other servo, there was no emblem of power as its occupant had not left its temple yet. 

The sunlight shone in through the windows and doors of the temple, reflecting down on the inside of the temple. The glyphs and paintings on the walls and ceilings were illuminated as the sunlight hit them, reflecting off the flecks of gold in some drawings. They began to move and dance once the sun completely covered them, resetting themselves once their task was complete. 

The sunlight came to rest on the God who was still sprawled across his bed like a starfish. One servo was hanging off the bed, and the mech's face was squished against his pillow as he snored loudly. The white blankets was twisted around his body, and they could barely even be called blankets as they weren't exactly serving a purpose. 

The God let out a hiccup and he sat up, rubbing the sleepiness from his optics. He pushed himself up and rested on his feet, stretching upwards and gave a satisfied hum as he felt several joints and gears in his back shift and crack against each other. He sighed in content as he left his arms fall. 

He sighed again as he looked down at his all too comfortable pillow and mattress. "Sorry, I do have to get up." The God apologized to his beloved bed. "I'll be back before ya know it." 

The God pushed himself out of the bed, grunting as the blanket wrapped itself around his ankle. Once the soft fabric was off his leg, the God lifted his servos, his digits tracing a path. 

The materials followed his movements, shifting and floating in the air until the bed was fully made again, as if no one had been sleeping there at all. The pillows fluffed themselves out and rested at the top of the bed, and it was /so/ very tempting that the God simply crawl in again and ignore any sort of duty he had to do today. 

The thought was interrupted and the action was stopped as the God heard a loud banging from behind him. 

Startled by the loud noise this early in the morning, the God flinched and covered his audio receptors, groaning loudly.

"Wakey wakey, Bulk, it's time to-" Miko stopped mid-sentence when she saw that - for once - the bed was fully made, and Bulkhead was awake beside it. This never happened; Bulkhead always needed at least ten minutes of pressure before he finally rolled out of bed. 

The gong and stick in her hands paused and lowered slightly. 

The two of them made eye contact and Bulkhead made a face. "Miko, don't you dare-" 

Bulkhead's protests were interrupted as Miko began to loudly bang the gong again, looking the God dead in the optic as she did so. Bulkhead rolled his optics and let out another groan. 

"You are gonna be the death of me," Bulkhead lifted a servo and gestured aimlessly to the side, and the gong and stick followed. Miko whined weakly in protest, but the green mech sat down on the floor beside his bed and gestured for Miko to come closer. 

The small Valeran let out a squeal and dashed over, sitting down cross legged in front of the green God. 

"What are we thinking for today, Miko?" Bulkhead asked, running his large servo through Miko's hair. "Ponytail, bun? Chop it all off?" 

Miko let out a small laugh. "Braids!" She said eagerly. "June gave me a lot of chores today since I accidentally let the chickens out and lost one of 'em. Do you think you could add some pink in there too?" 

Bulkhead chuckled and got to work. Even though his servos were considerably larger than Miko's head, he made do by whisking his digits around, and Miko's hair eagerly followed the gestures. Bulkhead raised an optic ridge as he lifted a piece of dried mud out of Miko's scalp. "Miko, the sun _just_ got over the hills, how do you already have mud in your hair?"

"I'm productive," Miko defended herself with a giggle. 

The two of them fell into easy conversation, Miko asking her typical morning questions of 'What did you dream about last night?' or 'Can I come with on a patrol to the MECH border?'. Bulkhead responded with questions of his own, like 'Did you eat your breakfast?' and 'Can you sit still for two seconds?'. 

Bulkhead placed one of his digits on the front of Miko's hairline, pulling back and a few of Miko's hair strands turned a bright and vibrant pink inside the braids. Miko squealed as she felt the color change tickle against her scalp, but forced herself to remain still as she waited for Bulkhead to finish. 

The green God lifted one hand and snapped his fingers, a small rubber band forming out of thin air. He carefully wrapped it around the bottom of Miko's braid combination, and leaned back to admire his work. 

Since Miko's choice of hair today was braids, it was only natural that Bulkhead give her the best braids she'd ever seen, and he liked to think he had done a damn good job this time around. 

There were four small braids that were tight against her head on either side of her face, and one large braid came down the back. The nine braids merged into one large one, the small braids keeping their shape and flowing through the largest one. The streak of pink was in one of the three strands that went into the main braid, and while it wouldn't have been Bulkhead's first choice for Miko's black hair, it certainty was a statement. 

"All done, kiddo." Bulkhead declared, and Miko sprung up to go look at herself in the large mirror housed in one corner of the temple. Bulkhead stayed on his spot on the floor, a small smile on his face plates as he watched Miko admire her new look. 

"I love it! I'm so bad-ass!" Miko exclaimed, flexing a little in the mirror. Bulkhead rolled his optics and chuckled. "June is gonna hate it, which makes it so much better!" 

Bulkhead chuckled at that. "We did this to make June mad at you?" He asked, not all surprised if that was the case. 

Miko cast him a lock over her shoulder. "Duh." She replied, looking back at the mirror. "So what does the God of Earth and Love have planned for today?"

"Probably clean up after all your messes," Bulkhead replied sarcastically, but he was only half kidding. "But Clunk and Ferris were looking a little sick so I'm gonna have to check on them." Miko nodded to show she had heard, and Bulkhead was slightly surprised that she didn't offer to come with like she always did. 

After a few more minutes of admiring herself, Miko ran to stand in front of the door after she grabbed her Pit-Forsaken gong. "You coming?" She asked eagerly, practically bouncing in place. 

Bulkhead waved a servo at her, a warm smile on his face. "You go ahead, kid, I'll catch up with ya in a minute." 

Miko's smile widened and she nodded. "Don't fall back asleep or I'll send in Ratchet to wake you up!" The young girl turned around and hoped down the stairs, banging the gong and singing a song as loud as she could. 

Bulkhead smiled fondly as he stood up and made his way towards the doorway to his temple, leaning against the stone when he got to it. He watched Miko run over the hills back towards the village, the sound of the gong growing fainter the farther away she got. 

Bulkhead lifted his arms and crossed them over his chassis, a large sigh escaping him as he watched the sun rise in front of him. It had risen above the horizon completely now, and the sky was almost completely eggshell blue. The Valerans were already starting their day, and Bulkhead could see a few of his fellow Gods walking among the people or kneeling beside them, talking. He saw Miko's tiny form as she ran up to a large yellow Bot, who knelt down beside her. 

Bulkhead lifted a servo and snapped his digits, a cup of coffee appearing magically out of the air. He took a sip and hummed at the taste, and the noise that escaped his lips brought back the dream he had being trying to recall since he opened his optics.

No matter how hard he wracked his brain, Bulkhead couldn't remember most of his dream but he could still see flashes of himself. He knew he wasn't alone; there was a smaller mech with him. He remembered they were in some kind of metropolis that looked strangely similar to Cybertron, but he couldn't put his finger on where it was. 

He could see an awkward - but incredibly adorable - smile blooming on the mech's face, and he was saying something as he approached him. He was short, and his plating was a weird mix of tacky colors like red, white and green, but it worked on him. Bulkhead knew that for certain that the mech seemed scared for some reason, but not much else.

He remembered feeling _proud_ and _love_ and _protect_ rise up in his gut from the dream, and the distinct feeling that he had been there before was very strong with the scenery of the place, but he couldn't determine if that was just part of the dream or if he had really been there. 

He narrowed his optics as he tried harder to focus, to remember. 

_Primus_ why couldn't he _remember_?! 

Bulkhead scoffed and dropped the coffee mug in his servo, but before it fell very far it vanished into thin air, the stray drops of the heavenly liquid disappearing as well. The God paid it no extra mind as he began to walk down the steps of his temple towards the village area. 

'I'll just have to talk to Bee, see if he can bring up my dreams,' Bulkhead thought to himself. If anyone could bring his dream to the front of his mind and figure out whatever the Pit it meant, it was Bumblebee. 

As Bulkhead reached the final step of his temple and began walking on the cool, dew covered grass, the servo of the statue resting on top his temple was filled with a small mound of dirt, with a large and beautiful flower standing proudly on the top. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Wheeljack gripped the edge of the waste disposal a little tighter as he felt his gut churning a little more. He had just finished his fifth round of puking, and he guessed there was going to be another. 

His guess was quickly proven correct. He pulled himself up a little higher and emptied the very last of his stomach contents into the waste disposal, swearing through his teeth when his finial hit the sides. 

Wheeljack had made the mistake of telling his friends he wanted to get completely and utterly drunk - under the guise that he and the other scientists had just had a major break through with the Cybermatter, _not_ that he had seen a strange and quite handsome ghost in the dark alley - and everyone had been in complete support of this proposal. The bartender, Macadam, was less than thrilled that they wanted to get drunk in his bar - they'd had a track record for being rowdy drunks - but Blurr had told him he planned to stay sober as he had a job interview the next day, and Macadam had allowed it. 

Wheeljack was actually off today, as well as all of this week, so he wasn't afraid to drink a little more than needed. 

He was regretting that now. 

Once his stomach stopped gurgling and the room stopped turning around him, Wheeljack slowly rose from the waste disposal, facing the mirror. There was a small ring of gray around his optics and he looked a little more white than gray in the face plates, but he'd been hungover before and this was nothing new. If anything, this was mild. 

As well as being rowdy drunks, they were also notorious for having Pit awful hangovers every following morning. 

Wheeljack proceeded to clean his face with a towel and brush his teeth before he made his way out into his bedroom, and then to his kitchen. 

He stepped over Springer and Impactor where they were laying still passed out on the floor, and he moved past them to his coffee maker. It had cost him a fortune to buy, but the investment had paid off; it made the best damn coffee Wheeljack had ever had. 

"Are you done puking?" Impactor's sluggish voice was almost inaudible. "'Cause I think it's my turn." 

Wheeljack waved him off as the yellow and purple mech rose from the floor and dashed into Wheeljack's bathroom, the sounds of puking echoing into the kitchen. Springer groaned and rose up, holding onto the counter for support. Wheeljack offered him a cup of orange juice, which Springer gladly accepted. 

"Why are your optics gray around the edges?" Springer asked as he forced himself to drink half of the orange juice. He gagged and looked like he wanted to hurl, but he swallowed hard. 

"Wouldn't you like to know." Wheeljack retorted, adding a healthy helping of sugar and milk to his coffee. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to keep it down, but it was worth a try. "Where'd Whirl run off to?" 

"Wouldn't you like to know." Springer fired back, and Wheeljack chuckled. "Nah, he got picked up by someone, went home with them. Don't really remember it." 

"Lucky bastard." Wheeljack said and took a small sip of his coffee. It tasted awful with the vomit taste still fresh in his mouth. "He's always gettin' laid." 

"You're just jealous. When's the last time you got some action?" 

"Dunno. Maybe a month?" Wheeljack shrugged.

"Was it that bad?" 

"No, just a one night stand." 

"The guy not nice?" 

"No he was fine. Just didn't have a lot in common. And not my type." 

Springer grunted in understanding, and silence settled between them. They heard Impactor slip and fall in the bathroom, the loud /thud/ and the muffled swearing pretty obvious. Both of them tried to hide their laughter in their drinks as the mech walked back into the kitchen. Wheeljack handed him a cup of orange juice which was accepted, but not drank. 

"I got the same house out in the country for all of next week, if you guys're interested." Impactor said after a few moments, his voice still raspy. 

Springer nodded. "Love to." 

Wheeljack shook his helm. "Can't." 

Impactor rolled his optics. "I thought you said you had some off days comin' up, that's why you could drink." 

"I _do_ , but I'm gonna travel again. Explore." 

"Didn't you _just_ do that?" 

"Like, half an eon ago." 

"Thought you explored everythin' already." 

"That's the beauty of space, Springer. There's always more to see." Wheeljack forced himself to take another sip of coffee. "I'm goin' by Kup's to check on my ship, if you guys were interested in taggin' along." 

Both mechs shook their heads. They explained they had work things to do, but to send Kup their best. The three mechs fell into easy conversation after that, telling what little they could remember from last night, how they bounced from bar to bar, getting sicker and sicker as they went. They looked through their phones and laughed at the embarrassing pictures they had managed to capture. 

Springer excused himself first, taking a cup of coffee and a muffin before he left. Impactor stayed a little longer, but before he left Wheeljack called out to him. 

"Hey, Impactor." The mech turned and waited for Wheeljack to say more. "You didn't happen to see a tall, green mech in the alley last night, did you?" 

Impactor tilted his helm. "You mean Springer?" 

"No," Wheeljack face palmed and laughed a little. "I mean when you called to me and told me to hurry up, you didn't see anyone?" 

Impactor took a step back into the apartment, his optics filling with concern. "Wheeljack, you okay? You seein' things? Have you been getting enough sleep lately? You did start hallucinatin' things that one time when you didn't sleep for two weeks." 

Wheeljack's spark sank in his chest as he leaned against the counter nonchalantly, or at least he tried to be. "Nah, I've been sleepin' just fine. Probably just spent too long around the chemicals without my mask on. I'm fine." 

Impactor didn't seem convinced. "You sure? I can get you in with my shrink sometime, if you wanna talk to anyone." 

Wheeljack offered a small smile and waved his offer off. "No thanks, you can keep your shrink. I'm sure it was nothin'." 

Impactor nodded, but he still seemed worried. "Okay. If you say so." He left with a wave and closed the door behind him. 

Wheeljack's smile fell the moment Impactor closed the door.

"Scrap." Wheeljack muttered around his mug, his thoughts beginning to wander. 'So no one else saw him. Just me. Perfect.' 

Wheeljack did a double take around the kitchen, making sure there was no transparent bots just staring at him once again. He ventured into the living room, his bedroom and the spare, the bathroom, all with the same results: nothing. He wandered out onto his balcony, sipping the last of his coffee. 

Wheeljack sighed, closing his optics while he took a deep breath. 

"How 'bout this?" Wheeljack hated that he was talking to himself - not _himself_ , he decided, he was talking to the transparent bot - and he wasn't exactly sure why he was doing this. 

He rolled his eyes as he remember that his former therapist told him he needed to talk about his problems to the people he was having problems with, and this was as close as he could get to that. "You leave me alone, and I'll just continue to live out my life? Sound good?" 

Wheeljack turned back around and walked through his apartment, sighing in relief when he found no strange bots. He drank the last bit of coffee and placed his mug in the sink. 

"Chemicals." He told himself. "That's all it was." 

He moved to his berth room to begin packing for his trip, humming a tune to himself as he went. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

::Cliff, I'm telling you, that is the _worst_ idea you've ever had, and you've had some pretty bad ideas:: 

"How? I'm just sayin', a giant force field around the planet would be a worthwhile thing to do! The Titans would have a much harder time finding us then." 

::None of us can create force fields that large, scrap for brains:: 

"Ratchet totally could!" 

::Good luck convincing him to stand there all day holding a force field around the entire planet::

"Okay, maybe not the whole planet. But just the village, maybe!" 

::I'll say it again: good luck:: 

Ultra Magnus couldn't help the small smile that came to his face at Bumblebee and Cliffjumper's discussion. Their constant chatter may have been annoying, but at least it was passing the time. Besides, stealth wasn't their main objective anyway, they were simply on a standard border patrol. The tall blue God could have forced them to be quiet, but he found it helped the moral if he allowed them to talk quietly among themselves. 

Ultra Magnus stepped over a fallen tree, and he felt the _whoosh_ of wind on his plating as Bumblebee simply used his powers to move the trunk aside. Bumblebee's indignant cry filled his mind and he wasn't surprised when he turned around and saw two identical Bumblebee's staring back at him.

Cliffjumper, as the God of Change and Character, could shape shift into anyone or anything he desired. His imitations were flawless and foiled many of his fellow Gods on occasion. The only thing that told Ultra Magnus which was Cliffjumper and which was the real Bumblebee was the yellow bot on the right was dying of laughter while the yellow bot on the left was attempting to use his powers to blow Cliffjumper away. 

"That is enough." Ultra Magnus ordered, and reluctantly, Cliffjumper gave up his disguise and Bumblebee stopped trying to blow him away. Cliffjumper phased back into himself, his horns and bright red paint job returning almost in the blink of an eye. "We may not be focusing on stealth, but we still need to keep our heads in the game and our minds focused. MECH could strike at anytime." 

Cliffjumper blew a raspberry. " _MECH_? Causin' problems? Please, I could fight them in my sleep. Which I do, Arcee tells me I wake her up all the time 'cause I'm punching in Silas's dirty face." 

Ultra Magnus rolled his optics and turned around, leading the two Gods into the open area that served as the God and MECH border. It was an open field with a large river running across the center, about twelve feet wide and a few feet deep. It kept MECH on their side, and for the Gods, Ratchet had put up a spell a long time ago that ensured neither could cross. 

Only the barrier was now down. 

Cliffjumper stopped as he realized the familiar red hue of Ratchet's spell was missing from the river bed. "Funny. Shouldn't there be a red wall here?" 

Bumblebee walked a little closer and stretched out his servo. He continued to move forward slowly, hesitantly, waiting for the force field to come back online and shock him. But no shock came. Bumblebee pulled back and gave Ultra Magnus a worried look. 

::The barrier is completely down:: Bumblebee whispered. ::This hasn't happened before. Ratchet makes sure it's up all the time with like, seven supportive spells:: 

Cliffjumper looked both ways, trying to see if he could spot any MECH agents across the border. "Arcee told me all was clear yesterday, this must have happened between yesterday and right now." 

"They have been getting much better at understanding our powers." Ultra Magnus hummed. 

::We'll have to tell Optimus, and Ratchet. He'll need to create a new charm:: 

"OP isn't gonna be happy about this." Cliffjumper shook his helm. 

::Do you think they crossed over?:: Bumblebee asked, checking the ground for footprints. There were no obvious ones in the ground surrounding their side of the border, but it was still worth it to look. 

Ultra Magnus said nothing further, but he sat down beside the stream and closed his optics. He reached out a servo and placed it into the clear water and focused. Water had memory, and if he could access it, he could answer Bumblebee's question. 

When there was a splash in the water, Ultra Magnus felt it. 

Cliffjumper and Bumblebee heard it instead, and reacted accordingly. 

Bumblebee lashed out with his wind powers, attempting to catch the small agents off guard. There were six of them, all trying to make their way back to their own side. Bumblebee let out an annoyed huff as the MECH agents lifted a shield, one that had they had seen before. It could deflect Bumblebee's powers for just long enough that they could escape. 

Cliffjumper had shape shifted into Bulkhead, and he roared as he pressed his servos into the ground. The earth shook and rumbled and cracked beneath the feet of the MECH agents, and they stopped and attempted to gain their ground. 

Ultra Magnus opened one optic as he heard a small beeping noise. Annoying though it may be, it was easily recognizable. 

"Let them go!" Ultra Magnus demanded, and Cliffjumper and Bumblebee looked back at him, confused. 

The foreign planets that were joined with Valeran didn't need to use surveillance cameras to keep track of the Gods, but MECH did. 

"What's wrong, shoulder pads?" Cliffjumper demanded as he shifted back into himself. "Why are we letting them go?" 

Bumblebee watched as the agents ran over the hills and out of view, but he did not move to stop them. ::We almost had them!:: 

Ultra Magnus raised one servo, opening up his powers in the direction of the beeping. He could feel himself getting closer to it, before he found the source of the beeping. 

Ultra Magnus clenched his servo, and the beeping began to get louder and closer towards him. Soon, a small camera device came flying through the trees, until it landed in Ultra Magnus's now opened servo. 

"A camera…" Cliffjumper breathed. "On our side of the border?" 

:: _That's_ why they needed the barrier down. They're trying to get closer:: 

The God examined the device in his servo, taking in the tiny, specific work of the MECH device. MECH was far from their most formidable opponent, but they were also not to be taken lightly. They couldn't fly or turn invisible or posses the Gods like the Titans could, but they had other ways of spying on the Gods. This camera was a prime example. 

This wasn't the first time Ultra Magnus had found a camera device from MECH, but it was the first time he'd found it this close to their camp. Judging by how long it had taken Ultra Magnus to get the device in his servo, the camera had been a mile or two closer to their camp, which was bold for MECH. 

"Should we take it back to camp?" Cliffjumper asked, his servos clenched in anger. It unnerved him that MECH had managed to best Ratchet's shielding, and it made him uncomfortable as he didn't know how far into their territory MECH had gotten. 

Bumblebee took a step closer, his door wings twitching on his back. ::Maybe we could use it to locate the other cameras, if there are any:: Bumblebee shivered. 

Ultra Magnus opened his mouth to speak, but he paused. Faintly, he could hear small voices coming from the camera, most of which he didn't recognize, but the loudest of which he did. 

The raspy, controlled voice of the MECH leader was a voice he couldn't forget easily. 

"They can hear us." Cliffjumper hissed out, his optics glowing in his anger. "We can't bring them right into our camp." 

Ultra Magnus shattered the camera without a second thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me forever to come up with Cliffjumper's power, but I decided he would love to prank everyone every chance he got, and being a shapeshifter is the best way for him to do that. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed it!!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! 
> 
> This chapter was a little bit of a pain to write, not sure why but some characters just didn't want to cooperate. 
> 
> Thank you again to everyone who's been reading this so far and leaving kudos, it really does mean a lot to me. 
> 
> Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy, enjoy!

Meetings were by far Starscream's least favorite things about being a God. They were boring, they were unnecessary, and they took up the better part of his day that could be spent helping the children tip the small things known as 'cows'. 

He gripped his spark mate's servo a little tighter as he rolled his optics. The Iclic King and Airachnid were late _again_ , causing this meeting to already be off to a bad start, and they were only ten minutes in. 

As pleased as Starscream was that he as well as his fellow Gods had escaped from the wrath of the Children of Unicron and found habitable planets, it pained him beyond words that the planets they found were a part of a interplanetary agreement (Starscream knew that Optimus would have still forced everyone to see each other once a month, his fellow God was sentimental like that). 

He supposed it was worth it, in a sense, it provided them extra back up should the Titans ever find them, but the Pit awful _meetings_ were almost enough for him to leave the planet and never come back. 

Soundwave squeezed his hand, and Starscream offered him a blink-and-you'll-miss-it smile in return. 

This meeting was being held on Valeran; it was their rotation. The Gods from Tonin had arrived first, followed closely by the inhabitants of Nova, but the Iclic people had yet to show. 

The meeting itself was being held in the main temple in the center of all the others. The temple's main room could be turned into anything the Gods so desired: a dining hall, a ballroom, but today it was set as their traditional meeting hall. There was a large, circular table in the center, surrounded by enough chairs for everyone to sit comfortably. The chairs were not split apart by faction or home world; they were always encouraged to mingle. 

'Encourage everyone to reconnect' as Optimus loved to say. 

The representatives from Valeran included William Fowler and June Darby, as well as her son and his two friends. (At first Starscream had questioned the usefulness of the three children being there, but he did find he liked their company and Miko's sarcastic comments made the meetings a little more enjoyable). All of the Gods who lived on Valeran were also present. From Tonin, all of the Gods who lived there were present. 

Nova came with their Queen, a small organic woman with black hair and golden eyes. Beth was her name, if Starscream could remember correctly. The God respected her; no matter how intense the arguments got during these meetings, she would stand her ground and she was almost scary. Nova also came with their highest ranking generals and Shockwave, who had been the God who had left Tonin to live with the Novian people. He had ended up loving it so much he stayed. 

Whenever the Iclic people would arrive, they would be represented by their King, Crow, as well as their generals. While Starscream respected Beth for being defiant and strong willed, he respected Crow for his cunning and strategic brilliance (Starscream _was_ the God of Ice and Cunning after all, he recognized his talents where they were being used well). Airachnid was the God who traveled there, and like Shockwave, she had loved it so much she chose to live there. 

Starscream wondered if she stayed because she loved it, or she stayed because she didn't want to spend any more time than necessary with her God family. She had always preferred to live alone before they left Cybertron. 

"Any word from Crow on their time of arrival?" Optimus's voice cut through the small talk that filled their air of the meeting hall. The red and blue God was sitting beside Megatron and Beth. 

Dreadwing was standing by the door, Knock Out and Smokescreen by his side. Dreadwing glanced out of the doorway, then looked back towards Optimus and Megatron. "Nothing yet." 

"It _is_ like Crow to be late, isn't it?" Starscream added, rolling his optics. "And Airachnid was never one to push in terms of being on time." 

Megatron managed a small chuckle. "Perhaps not. However, Crow will get here when he gets here." Megatron rested his elbow on the armrest, and his arm stayed lazily in the air. A moment passed and a glass of red wine appeared in his servo. "We are in no rush." 

"Speak for yourself," Cliffjumper said loudly as he propped his feet up on the table. A general from Nova laughed and followed his lead, while Arcee rolled her optics at her spark mate's antics. "my nap time is in an hour, and you all know how cranky I can get when I don't take my nap." 

"Here they come!" Smokescreen announced, running back over to his chair. The sound of the portal opening was heard overhead, the familiar hum almost lost to Starscream's audio receptors. 

Sure enough, a few moments later, a nimble Predacon landed on the steps leading up to the temple door. Starscream recognized Airachnid's Predacon form the instant she came fully into view. Her black, white and purple plating was easily recognized. 

Crow and his generals stepped off of Airachnid's back and walked into the meeting area. Crow was a tall man with a fair completion and bright red hair. He reminded Starscream of what Knock Out might look like if he was an organic like them. 

There was a roar from the Predacon before she was surrounded by a puff of smoke, and when it vanished, Airachnid stood in its place. She shook herself off a little and stretched her limbs to the sky, before she sighed and walked past Dreadwing and Knock Out with a small nod of greeting. She took the open seat between Bulkhead and a Novian general. 

Optimus didn't rise from his seat, but he did straighten and offered everyone at the table a warm smile. "Welcome everyone; I hope everyone traveled safely and all is well where you come from. Now, who wishes to begin this meeting?" 

"I will start." Beth did rise from her chair, but even as she stood on the steps leading up to the chair itself she was much lower than eye level to the Gods in the room. "Nova has been doing very well, and we have completely recovered from the small cases of the sickness that plagued our village, thanks to the help from June and Ratchet." 

Beth waved a hand towards the two health specialists, and both nodded their heads in thanks. 

"The cure you have provided us has done wonders for our people, and we will continue to develop it to remove any side effects." Beth continued. "If you have the time, we would humbly request your assistance on the matter." 

Ratchet smiled warmly while June nodded eagerly. "We would love to, Beth." June said, her voice matching the bright look in her eyes. She grabbed Fowler's hand eagerly, and the Valeran leader smiled up at his wife. Across the table, Miko made a kissy face, while Jack and Raf grimaced. Starscream only snickered. 

"We are excited to be hosting the Ball in one month's time, and hope that everyone will be in attendance." Beth continued, and a few excited murmurs broke out at the mention of the Ball. Smokescreen gave Bumblebee a wink across the table, while Cliffjumper blew a kiss to Arcee. Starscream turned to look at Soundwave, who was already looking a him, a small cartoon-like heart on his visor. "Nova has nothing else to report." 

Beth sat down, fixing her dress as she did so. 

Bumblebee turned and whispered something to Knock Out, and the red God responded in kind, and soon the meeting had taken a break and small conversations broke out between all parties. Dreadwing was talking to a general from Nova, while Ultra Magnus was speaking to Starscream in a calm tone. 

Without standing up, Crow spoke, his voice loud and slightly accusing. "And how fares your Titan problem?" 

The peaceful atmosphere of the meeting vanished in a heartbeat. 

The meeting went quiet instantly at those words. Breakdown looked away from the Iclic leader in disgust, while Megatron's grip tightened ten fold on the glass in his servo. The delicate surface of it cracked under his grip. 

Airachnid let out a chuckle that cut through the air like a razor. "My darling Crow, I have already told you; the Titans are still fast asleep across the galaxy, as they were the last time you asked -" 

"Actually, Airachnid." Optimus said, his voice hesitant but still confident. "we have an update we would like to discuss. Bumblebee." 

The small black and yellow God slowly rose from his seat, his frame shaking slightly from all the attention suddenly becoming focused on him. ::I had a vision, a few days ago. The Titans are awake, and they are on their way:: 

The meeting hall fell into an awkward silence, no one quiet sure what to say. 

Starscream wasn't sure what everyone else was feeling, but he was _disgusted_. This was news to him, and judging by everyone else's faces - except for the Gods who lived on Valeran, go figure - this was news to everyone else. Megatron was glaring at Optimus in shock while the Novian and Iclic people shifted uncomfortably in their seats. 

"And you're just mentioning this _now_?" Knock Out spat, his arms crossed over his chassis. 

"Bumblebee only received his vision a few days ago, we decided it would be best to wait until the meeting to discuss it, when we would all be here." Ratchet said calmly, moving to the edge of his seat. "That way, everyone could get all the facts at once and we could decide together what the best course of action would be. We need to work together on this issue." 

"Do not talk to us about solidarity!" Airachnid spat, standing up so fast the legs of her chair creaked against the floor. "You simply didn't want to tell us, do not make yourselves high and mighty in this situation!" Her armor flashed and puffed out, and Smokescreen felt sick to his stomach as he felt the room start to shift around him. 

"Airachnid, stop -" Dreadwing leaned forward, his servo outstretched to help calm the Goddess. 

"Your decision was most logical; to wait for everyone to be in the same room increases the chance of us coming to a sound agreement by nearly double," Shockwave spoke for the first time since he had arrived. "however, I do not believe that this issue is one that could be left to dwell upon. Any time wasted not discussing the Titans, is time we leave ourselves vulnerable." 

Optimus nodded, his expression grave. He looked up and met Airachnid's gaze before he turned his attention to Megatron. "Old friend, you know we would not have left you in the dark. We are unified and the Titan threat is not one to be ignored." Megatron's expression changed but he said nothing. 

"We were always going to discuss Bumblebee's vision, if this meeting was not due for another few weeks or even a few days more, then we would have told you the moment Bumblebee had his vision." Ratchet said. 

"Sounds like an excuse to me." Crow muttered, and Beth shot him a glare. 

"Be quiet, Crow. You've stirred enough emotions for one meeting." 

The attention shifted back to Optimus and Megatron as everyone waited for the God to say something. Megatron scoffed. "I believe you, Optimus. Just try not to keep secrets from us again." 

Miko could physically _feel_ the tension leave the room at Megatron's words. She slumped in her seat before June motioned for her to sit up. "So, what's the plan?" She asked, standing up so she could be a little taller and included in this _very_ interesting topic. 

Miko knew she should be more worried about the Titan threat; she knew if the Titans found Valeran, they would destroy everything on it, including her. But she had complete faith in Bulkhead and the other Gods, and she had decided a long time ago that she wasn't going to worry until she had a definite reason to. 

Bulkhead gave her an amused look. "Do you know how far away the Titans are, Bee?" 

The young God shook his helm. ::I know they've awoken and they're started coming towards us, but I don't know where they started or how long it will take them to get here." Bumblebee beeped. ::I've been trying to get another vision since I got the last one, but nothing yet.:: 

Soundwave shifted beside Starscream, his speakers activating. "I could assist you." It was Ratchet's voice that played through, tender in nature. "We can work together…to bring another…vision." Different clips and voices filtered through, but the message was heard clearly. 

Bumblebee nodded gratefully and sat down in his chair. 

"Nova would be honored to spare any kind of food or supplies to you, should you ever need it." Beth offered, and Crow waved his arm, his silent form of agreement that Iclic would do the same. 

"With all due respect," Ultra Magnus inputted. "to defend against the Titans, we do not need supplies or food, we simply need a way to defend ourselves." 

Optimus raised a servo to his second in command. "But we will gladly accept anything you are willing to give us." 

"I know something that could work," Knock Out raised his servo unceremoniously. "the mech from Cybertron could move his aft and get here to help." 

Another session of silence filled the temple. They all knew that with the Titans came the mech from the prophecy, but everyone had been silently hoping that the mech would arrive before the Titans caused any sort of trouble, not after. 

"Who needs him anyway?" Crow spoke up, his voice encouraging. Starscream scowled; encouraging wasn't in Crow's nature. "You guys have all sorts of cool powers, you can defeat the Titans without him." 

"While we most certainly have _cool powers_ , Crow, the mech from Cybertron has always been a part of the plan to defeat the Titans." Megatron explained. 

"It was foretold by Primus -" 

"Who?" 

"Our creator. That this mech would defeat the Titans. While we could make a stand against the Titans, it will not be possible to defeat them without the one from Cybertron." 

"We don't even know a thing about him." Arcee spoke up. "We don't know what he looks like, if he's even coming." 

Bulkhead shifted in his seat, but said nothing. 

"Why don't you guys just pack up and run? You could always just stay out of their way." A general from Nova spoke up. 

"Valeran's our home," Smokescreen defended, flashing a grin to the children, June and Fowler at the table. "We can't leave them alone." 

Crow scoffed. "Very well. I have full faith that Soundwave and Bumblebee can do more tests to give you more information on the matter." 

Optimus rose from his chair. "And that concludes our meeting." Everyone rose from their chairs and began to give the people next to them their goodbyes. "Safe journey, everyone." 

Starscream couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped him as he rose up from his seat, his servo still linked with Soundwave's. As Soundwave pulled away to talk to Bumblebee about their plans for his visions, Starscream approached the children.

The sun hadn't set yet, there was plenty of time to tip some cows before Starscream left for Tonin. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"Ya silly old aft burner! Come her' and gimme some love!" 

Wheeljack let out a loud laugh and gladly accepted the hug Kup was offering. They clapped each other on the back roughly before they pulled apart, still laughing loudly. 

Kup was one of Wheeljack's oldest friends; they'd met when Wheeljack's sire had brought their ship to Kup's shop when Wheeljack was little. Kup had shown little Wheeljack how to fix the engine leak all by himself, and they had been friends ever since. 

Kup was the owner of the finest shipping building on all of Cybertron; he was well respected and well loved by a lot of Cybertron's higher-ups. Kup was an older mech; gruff and cold, but he had a spark of gold and it showed if he liked you. His plating was chipped a little, but it was still a strong teal with darker hues. He could always be spotted with a cigar in his mouth. 

Kup pulled an extra cigar out of his subspace and offered it to Wheeljack, who accepted with a nod. The teal mech offered him a lighter and Wheeljack leaned forward to light his cigar, before the two mechs leaned back against Wheeljack's ship. 

"Thought you weren't headin' out for a coupl' more eons." Kup pointed out, looking down at a data pad in his servos. 

Wheeljack nodded and took a small drag of the cigar. "I wasn't, but then I got bored. Can only listen to Brainy and Percy talk about their sex lives so much. You know how it is." 

"I don't, thank my lucky stars. But I think yer just leavin' to try n' get laid." 

"Slagger." Wheeljack chuckled. "Not everything I do is an attempt to get laid, ya pompous aft." 

"Ya love me. Now, where ya headed?" 

"No idea. I was thinking I'd head northwest and see where it takes me. Haven't gone that way in eons." 

Kup nodded, an approving look on his face. "So you're here for the Jackhammer's check up then, huh?" 

"You know it." 

"Not here to see my pretty face?" 

"Aw," Wheeljack snickered. "you saw right through my lies." Wheeljack pulled the cigar out of his mouth and leaned down to press a taunting kiss on Kup's cheek, and he was immediently slapped in the face for his efforts. Not the worst slap he'd ever gotten, but Kup had a mean swing. Wheeljack hid the stinging pain with laughter. 

Kup scoffed and turned around, running his hand over the side of the Jackhammer. He moved his way to the back where the engine panel was hidden, and popped it off. Wheeljack followed aimlessly, taking another drag of his cigar. 

"Yer sure yer ready to be travelin' again, Wheeljack?" Kup asked after a few minutes of analyzing the Jackhammer's engine. 

Wheeljack tilted his helm in confusion. "Well yeah. Why, is somethin' wrong with the Jackhammer?" 

"No, the ship's runnin' fine, better than fine, as always. I can put in a new compulsion system for ya if ya'd like." Wheeljack waved his affirmative and Kup continued. 

"It's _you_ I'm worried 'bout, Wheeljack." Kup didn't look up from his work. 

Wheeljack scowled. "I'm fine, Kup. You don't havta worry about me." 

Kup _did_ look up then. "Wheels, I've been friends with ya ever since you were in diapers. I think I know when you're not fine." 

"You talked to Impactor." 

" _He_ came to _me_. And you know how spooked he has ta get to tell anyone 'bout anythin'." Kup tilted his helm. "But yer _seeing ghosts_? You know that's not normal, right?" 

Wheeljack rolled his optics and leaned against the side of his ship, taking one last drag of the cigar before he walked to a garbage and put out the cigar in the ashtray on top. "I ain't _seeing ghosts_ , Kup. I was just around the chemicals in my lab for too long." 

Kup raised an eyebrow. "Wheeljack, I'm surrounded by gas n' smoke n' all kinds of chemicals all day long and I have not _once_ hallucinated. There's something wrong wit ya." Kup closed the engine panel and gave it a few pats before he moved on to the inside of the ship. Wheeljack followed. 

"I swear, nothin's wrong. I'm _fine_ , Kup. Impactor just overreacted." Wheeljack argued, flopping down in the pilot's seat as Kup continued to inspect the controls and systems. "And you remember the navigation needs to be turned off then turned on again before it works?" 

Kup waved him off and did just that, before turning it off right away anyway. He turned and sat down on the counsel, facing Wheeljack with his arms crossed. 

"I'm gonna ask you one more time: you _sure_ yer ready to be travelin, Wheeljack?" Kup asked around his cigar, his voice strangely tender and calm for Kup. It lacked its usual aggressive tone. 

Wheeljack met his gaze, and his spark sank in his chest. 

In truth, _no_ , he was not ready to be traveling again. 

He was about to miss a very important week for his job, which meant mounds of paperwork whenever he got back. He still needed to give Whirl the key to his apartment so someone could take out his garbage and water his plants every morning - Wheeljack questioned his sanity to choose _Whirl_ to water the plants, anything that bucket of bolts touched he destroyed - as well as buy a couple of scones in advance from his regular breakfast vendor. 

Not to mention, there was a terrible feeling settling itself in his gut that the mech with the deep blue optics and kind smile was still wandering around with him, about to make himself visible to him. 

Wheeljack pushed down all those worries and looked Kup in the optic as he spoke. "Yes. You know I don't travel if I don't feel up to it." 

Kup stared at him for a while longer, as if he was waiting for Wheeljack to crack under his gaze. It had worked when Wheeljack was small, but Kup's consistency to use 'the glare' had caused him to build up an immunity to it. 

Kup eventually broke the gaze, shrugging. "Fine. But when ya call me in tears to come get ya from Primus knows where, I'll laugh at ya the whole way home." 

Wheeljack chuckled as Kup stood up to walk down the ramp. "I look forward to it." 

Wheeljack was tempted to follow him, but he decided to wait a minute more, looking around the inside of the ship he'd spent eons inside of. 

"I'm just gonna take this data pad to the front desk, I'll be right back." 

"Okay, I'll be here." Wheeljack sighed in relief and slumped further into the chair, drumming his fingers on his chassis. 

_Valeran_

Wheeljack jerked as he heard a voice thunder through the ship. It was a voice he'd never heard before, didn't recognize, but it sounded so familiar the same time, like he _should_ have known where it came from. 

_Go to Valeran_

Wheeljack looked around, under the console and around the ship, but there was no one in the cockpit save for him. He could hear tinkering outside and loud voices, but none of them sounded like the one'd just heard. 

He turned to the controls and navigation system, and looked down at them in surprise. 

The autopilot had been set for some coordinates that Wheeljack recongized as _far away_. He'd flown far before on his journeys, but never that far and never in the direction these coordinates were pointing to. 

There was an awful feeling in his gut that maybe Kup and Impactor were right: maybe he wasn't in the right head space to be flying. 

Honestly, first he was seeing ghosts, then he was hearing things, and now the Jackhammer was messed up too. 

But right alongside that awful feeling of regret and danger, there was a longing in his spark that he couldn't deny. He always got this feeling before he left on his adventures; the need to explore and see what else was out there. But this time, the need was stronger, as if someone was waiting for him. 

_Hope._. That was the feeling in his gut. 

"Hey Wheels! Ya comin?" Kup's voice shook Wheeljack from his thoughts. 

Wheeljack jumped in surprise and sprang out his his chair. He turned briefly and saw that the coordinates were still plugged in, and a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. 

"Yeah, I'm comin' I'm comin." Wheeljack said, and ran down the ramp towards Kup. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"I yield." Breakdown hissed out, his voice raspy from all the yelling he'd just done. His optics narrowed at Bulkhead, but the green mech could see the humor in his eyes, beneath the anger. 

Bulkhead smirked and flicked his finger, and all of the earth and trees that had started to grow on Breakdown vanished in the wind, allowing the God of Strength to get up slowly, rubbing his processor. 

"That was a cheap move, Bulk and you know it." 

Bulkhead chuckled, rolling his optics. "I don't know what you mean." 

After the Novian and Iclic people had left, the Gods from Tonin had stuck around a little longer, eating dinner with them and bringing out the high grade (which, looking back, had been a little bit of a mistake on Smokescreen and Cliffjumper's parts), and now the Gods were all having a tournament out in The Arena on the outskirts of the village.

The Arena was created by the Gods when they first arrived, a way to continue to better their skills or serve as a place to relax and hide out. It had everything needed to challenge the Gods: stationary dummies, movable drones, weapons, private training rooms, seats for the other Gods and villagers to watch. It was utilized nearly everyday, since it could be used for so much (often times the village children would use it for hide and seek). The Arena was usually above ground, but it could be taken below at a moment's notice. 

After the high grade had been brought out, everyone started getting a little cocky. Naturally, a duel was demanded to be held. A classic tournament. 

Bulkhead had just beaten Breakdown, so he was able to move onto the next round. It was a win by narrow margins, and Bulkhead would admit that the strong punch to the gut to get Breakdown off balance before he began to grow a tree on top of him wasn't exactly the most chivalrous move. 

Bulkhead reached down and helped his friend to his feet, and Breakdown accepted the gesture. The blue mech gave him a hard slap on the back, and they walked over to the small pavilion on the side, ready to watch the next round. 

Breakdown sat beside his mate, while Bulkhead sat down by Arcee, who was beside Starscream. They were having a casual conversation, little cups of tea in their servos and Bulkhead couldn't help but chuckle briefly. He turned to face them, creating a cup of coffee for himself. 

"What are we talkin' 'bout guys?" He asked, and Starscream cocked an eyebrow ridge at him when he saw the cup of coffee. 

"None of your business," Starscream said at the same time Arcee said "A book we decided to read in between meetings." 

Bulkhead chuckled again as Starscream groaned dramatically, as if Arcee had just revealed they were in cahoots to kill someone. "Who's up next?" Bulkhead changed the subject, a grin still on his face. 

"Knock Out has the matches," Starscream said, sounding bored. Bulkhead turned, and the short red mech had apparently heard his name be said, since he was now checking for the next match. 

"Ultra Magnus and Soundwave. Oh, this'll be most interesting." Knock Out hummed, an excited edge to his voice. "Has Soundwave been practicing how to make everyone look like fools when they fight him?" 

Starscream preened at the praise to his spark mate. "Naturally. Not that you need help looking like a fool, Knock Out." 

The God of Lightning and Vanity sent a small lightning shock Starscream's way, which was stopped by Starscream's icy talons. 

Bulkhead nodded in silent agreement to Knock Out's previous statement. Soundwave was better than skilled, and everyone knew it. He never bragged about it, never said he was better than everyone else, but everyone knew. The only bot Soundwave had ever lost to was Megatron, and that had been one Pit of a close match. 

Primus had favorites, and Soundwave was the perfect example. 

Not that Ultra Magnus wasn't skilled either, because he _was_. He'd worked himself tirelessly to get better, both mentally and with his powers. He could stand his ground against anyone, letting themselves show their weaknesses to him, only to have them be exploited once they tired themselves out. His speed and strength was one to be jealous of.

Bulkhead looked up as Ultra Magnus and Soundwave took to the arena, nodding to each other before they turned and walked a few paces apart, backs to the other. 

"Oh, we've got a classic duel today, boys." Knock Out whispered, not wanting to break the thick silence between the two mecha in the field. "So proper of them. I would have already shot Soundwave in the back by now." 

"Where's the fun in that?" Bulkhead replied, sipping his coffee. 

They went quiet as Soundwave and Ultra Magnus turned around to face each other. Soundwave didn't move, his body barely twitching as he stared at the other God through his visor. Ultra Magnus dropped one foot back into a guarding stance, letting water swirl around his servos as he brought them up to his face. 

The Arena was silent as the two mechs stared each other down, waiting for the other to make the first move. 

Across the battle field, on the other side under their own pavilion, Cliffjumper, Megatron, Ratchet, and Optimus watched eagerly. Dreadwing was resting as he had fought just before Breakdown and Bulkhead, but he was watching the display eagerly from his chair under the shade. Bumblebee and Smokescreen sat beside him, whispering to each other as they analyzed the fight. 

Cliffjumper looked up at Megatron, a smirk on his face. "I'll bet you fifty that Mags lasts longer than five minutes." 

Megatron didn't look down at him, but he cocked an eyebrow in interest. "Hundred to say for Soundwave beating him in two." They shook on it, and that was the last conversation had before the fight began.

Ultra Magnus struck first, as expected. Soundwave never attacked first. 

He kept his distance, shooting out water from his palms in Soundwave's direction, the water moving almost too fast for the optic to see, the water droplets like bullets flying through the air. 

If he was scared of the water coming at him, Soundwave didn't show it. 

He began to literally _dance_ his way out of the water droplets, his body shifted and moving so fluidly it was like the water that was coming at him. He twirled again as the water flew past him, and if Bulkhead looked close enough, he could have sworn he saw just a few specs of paint fly off Soundwave's arm from the water grazing it. 

Ultra Magnus let out a battle cry then, beginning to charge towards the silent mech. Soundwave's tentacles dropped from his chassis, small sparks flicking on the ends of them. Ultra Magnus continued to charge, water once again wrapped around his hands. 

They met in the middle, Ultra Magnus trying to swing at Soundwave, only for the tentacles to deflect his every move. Bulkhead noticed that one tentacle was also trying to latch onto Ultra Magnus, and the God was twisting and turning to avoid the blow as well. 

At one point, Ultra Magnus managed to land a hit, his right foot finding purchase against Soundwave's chest, and the slimmer God was sent flying backwards, twisting in the air. 

Soundwave twisted in midair, landing with a loud thud on his pedes, causing the ground to crack beneath him. His knees buckled slightly and he sank lower to the ground to gain balance, his arms crossing in front of his chassis. Slowly, the God of Reality and Silence stood up, his visor blank and his demeanor serious. 

Ultra Magnus wasted no time, letting out a battle cry and launching water balls at Soundwave as fast as he could. 

Just as he did the first time, Soundwave dodged with the same amount of grace and skill he had before. 

Ultra Magnus made the mistake to end the fight. 

Just as he was getting close to Soundwave, Ultra Magnus launched himself into the air, the water in his servos turning into a large, watery sword. He intended to strike it out, but in raising his arms above his head he left his front entirely exposed to Soundwave's attack. 

One of Soundwave's tentacles latched onto Ultra Magnus's face, and the Water God let out a scream before it was silenced, his body going limp and the water disappearing from his servos. 

Ultra Magnus crashed onto the ground, his form still limp even after Soundwave's tentacle left his face. 

"There he goes." Knock Out muttered and wrote something down on the match board. "Good fight, all things considered." 

Bulkhead gulped down the last of his coffee in an attempt to get his spark to stop beating so fast. One of Soundwave's many powers was that he could force you to see any reality he wanted, and render you completely helpless while he did so. It was both incredibly useful and incredibly terrifying. 

Bulkhead always made sure to never get on Soundwave's - or Starscream's, for that matter - bad side. He didn't feel the need to enter some strange reality where Soundwave was in charge. 

Ultra Magnus exited his trance as Soundwave reached a servo down to help him up, and the larger mech accepted the help. 

Arcee stood up to stretch, a smile coming to her face. "I'm up next, right Knock Out?" The red mech nodded and Arcee walked out onto the field, the sky already beginning to darken above them. 

Bulkhead stood up as well to stretch his limbs a little bit, walking over a little ways from the pavilion. He took a deep breath in, extending his arms above his head and letting a sigh escape him.

_He's coming_. 

Bulkhead paused, looking around to see who had spoken. Starscream, Knock Out and Breakdown were so absorbed in bickering with each other they hadn't even noticed Bulkhead had stood and walked away. Confusion thudded in his spark. 

_The One. He is coming to you_. 

Bulkhead looked around again, waiting for someone to burst out into laughter and tell him he was too gullible. 

No such thing happened. 

The voice was silent, even as Bulkhead waited for the voice to speak again. 

Bulkhead shrugged, turning around and walking back to his seat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added the fight scene on a whim, I've just been really waiting to show off some of their powers. Hope you all enjoyed!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> Another chapter down, a little shorter this time so sorry about that :(. The writer's block was real with this one, no characters really wanted to cooperate. I just want to say thank you again to everyone who's been reading and leaving kudos, it means the world to me. 
> 
> But anyway, I hope you all are staying safe and enjoy!

"Cybertron Air Command this is Wheeljack aboard the Jackhammer, I have just left the harbor and will be gone for an unknown amount of time." Wheeljack gave the classic description to the command center so they knew where he was headed. 

"Ship's number?" 

"CA-132." 

"Affirmative Wheeljack you are clear to fly." a voice responded. "Safe travels." 

Wheeljack closed the communications line and flipped a switch on the dash and his ship's radio came blasting online. His favorite song from his favorite band, Slash Monkey was the first one that played. He hummed to himself and pushed a few more buttons before the new compulsion system activated, sending him lurching backward into his chair at the force of it. The bright stars beside him faded to blurred lines as he flew past them.

"Woah!" Wheeljack cried, not ready for the increased thrust power. He touched his comm link button, laughing as he adjusted himself to the increased thrust. "Kup, you're amazing, you know that?" 

Kup's voice came through the comm system. "So I hear. But what for this time?" 

"You compulsion system, buddy. Faster than anything I've ever flown." Wheeljack replied back, still chuckling a little to himself. 

Kup chuckled. "Good to hear. Gotta sign off pal, comm back when ya can when ya reach a new planet or whatever. And turn down that Pit-forsaken music before ya ruin your audio receptors. It's ruinin' mine and I ain't even on that ship." 

Wheeljack responded by turning up his music to full volume, almost drowning out the noise of Kup cussing him out before he turned off the comm link. He turned it back to a normal level so he would be able to hear himself think. 

Wheeljack watched as Cybertron became little more than a dot among the other stars, insignificant to him now. He hummed along to his heavy metal music, tapping his digit against his chest when he crossed them over his plating. 

The time period between leaving Cybertron and arriving at the assigned planet was the best part of the flight to Wheeljack. He got to have hours to himself to blast his music as loud as he wanted, clean his equipment, write data reports that were long overdue, or catch up on some much needed sleep, just to name a few. 

But most importantly, being alone for a few hours at a time gave him plenty of time to think. 

Sometimes he would think about his job at the lab. He'd think about how excited he'd been when he got the job, and his excitement that didn't leave in the eons that he'd been working there. He chuckled as he realized he'd left Skyfire alone with Brainstorm and Perceptor, and as much as Wheeljack loved his coworkers, he wouldn't wish his worst enemies to be stuck with them for more than three hours. 

Other times, Wheeljack would think of the future, what it held for him. He wanted to continue to move up at the lab, maybe even become a chair member of the board someday and help make some of the difficult - but exciting - decisions about the organization and engineering division. 

He wanted to move out of his apartment and move into a house just outside the city; a house that he would build with Impactor and Springer and have it be exactly what he wanted. He imagined the garden he'd have, the recipes he would try in the modern kitchen. 

He would think of his future husband and maybe a sparkling or two coming home to him after a long day at school or their job. 

Those thoughts, and any thinking sessions Wheeljack would have aboard the Jackhammer would remind him of several things: he hated his apartment more than he hated anything in his life, and he was annoyingly single. 

Wheeljack huffed to himself, muttering a few things under his breath. He leaned forward and checked the navigation system, turning it on, then off, then again right away. 

The coordinates the Voice - that's what Wheeljack decided he would call it, since he still couldn't figure out where he'd heard the voice before - had put into the Jackhammer's system were still there, sitting innocently on the screen. 

The autopilot was set, all Wheeljack had to do was turn it on. 

He digits hovered above the autopilot button; something was pushing him to commit to it, a distinct feeling in his gut, but his logical side was telling him to ignore it and explore on his own. 

"Screw it." He muttered. "Let's do this." 

Wheeljack pushed the autopilot control and the system activated easily, different logistics popping up on the screen. It would take about two days to reach the coordinates. It wasn't the farthest he'd flown, but the white mech noticed he hadn't traveled into that sector very much prior to this.

"This should be fun." Wheeljack muttered again, leaning back in his seat. 

With the soothing sound of the engine filling his audio receptors and the blurring of the stars as he flew past, Wheeljack was asleep within minutes. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"Optimus, _no_. We've discussed this before." 

Optimus smiled warmly as he snapped his fingers and one large white plate appeared in his servo. He placed it down on the table before taking the utensils from his husband and placing them down in their proper places. 

The pair was in the main temple in the center of them all, setting up for the nightly family dinner. Every night, the Gods and some of their Valeran family members sat down to eat a feast prepared by one of the Gods, share stories and laugh until their sides hurt. These dinners had started out as nightly business discussions between the Valerans and the Gods, but someone at the third meeting or so mentioned that they were hungry, and the Gods revealed they could create food out of thin air. 

The tradition had stuck and it was Optimus's favorite part of the day. 

"Ratchet, I am not asking you to do something ridiculous, merely - " Optimus began and Ratchet stopped him with his classic "Yip yip yip!" 

"Optimus, I don't place bets because I always loose. So no, I will not bet on whether or not Cliffjumper will place a bomb or some sort of other _surprise_ in his meal tonight." Ratchet raised and optic ridge and tilted his head as he made several new forks and spoons at the ready for whenever Optimus needed them. Optimus smiled a little wider and looked down at the shorter mech, who glared back at up at him. 

"You know he will." Optimus joked, the humor filled tone of his voice as pleasant as it was rare. The large mech kept the smile on his face, placing the final plate down on the table and putting the utensils in their proper placing, but his optics never left Ratchet's. A smile was threatening to overturn at the corners of his lips, but Ratchet was fighting it with everything he could. 

"Of course he will," Ratchet conceded as Optimus took a step closer to him. "But I still don't bet." 

Optimus wrapped his arms around Ratchet's waist, and Ratchet's own arms came to rest around Optimus's neck. "Not even for me?" The taller red and blue mech asked, a sweetness in his voice. 

Ratchet shook his head and chuckled. "Especially not for you." Ratchet said firmly. "Besides, you're the leader Optimus. Wouldn't it do something for the spirits if everyone found out that we place bets on their cooking abilities?" 

Optimus said nothing, a smile still on his lips. He settled for leaning down and pressing his lips against Ratchet's, and the former huffed into the kiss. Ratchet let out a squeak as Optimus's glossa roamed into his mouth, their servos exploring the plating and armor they'd spent centuries memorizing. 

" _Ew_! Arcee! Optimus and Ratchet are making out before dinner again!" 

The pair split apart to see the rest of the Gods making their way into the temple. June and Fowler were sitting in Ultra Magnus's servo, talking with him about the increase in crop production. Miko was sitting on Cliffjumper's shoulder, while Jack was walking beside Arcee, and Raf was talking with Bumblebee. Smokescreen was covering Bumblebee's optics and the yellow God was trying to brush them off. 

"Don't look Bee!" Smokescreen exclaimed to his lover as Optimus and Ratchet pulled apart to sit at their respective seats at the table. "It might burn your optics out!" 

Bumblebee eventually succeeded in tearing Smokescreen's digits off his face. ::Smokey, I'm only a few minutes younger than you::

Smokescreen shrugged and pulled out his chair, sitting down beside Bulkhead and Cliffjumper. "I know, just tryna protect ya, Bee." Smokescreen said, and Bulkhead rolled his optics. 

"Only thing he needs protecting from is Cliff's cooking." Bulkhead scoffed and Cliffjumper leaned over to give him a pained expression. "'Cee, confirm it for me." 

Cliffjumper turned to look directly across from him at his spark mate Arcee, who only shrugged with a warm smile on her face. "I'm sure you'll just blow us away, Cliff." 

Smokescreen and Bumblebee snickered at the joke. 

Cliffjumper slumped in his chair as everyone took their seats at the table. Once everyone was situated, Ultra Magnus filled the Valeran's glasses with water, and energon appeared in the glasses of the Gods. Optimus flicked his servo, and across the temple, a little music box started to play a calming instrumental tune. 

Cliffjumper rose from his seat then, the legs creaking against the floor as he stood. The attention in the room shifted to him, and the red God lifted his servos. "Today, I have prepared all-you-can-eat burger buffet." 

No sooner than the words left his mouth, several full plates of food appeared on the table, and the plates of each God and Valeran was suddenly chocked full of their first helping of burgers. The table was now overflowing with different kinds of condiments and sides, all of them sizzling hot and fresh. 

Miko's eyes went wide and she took a massive bite of her burger, before she began to try and shovel the rest of it into her mouth in one go. Bulkhead gave her a concerned look from across the table, but said nothing and took a sip of his energon before he dug into his own burger. 

It was probably a good thing that Ratchet didn't bet his husband about Cliffjumper placing something into their food, because he would have lost. 

Ultra Magus had been biting into his salad when the small leafy greens exploded before they could reach his mouth. Streamers and confetti flew out all across the table, evaporating before they could land in the food. While the 'adults' per say were able to hide their laughter, the children and younger Gods burst out laughing, Cliffjumper nearly falling out of his chair as he gripped his stomach. 

"Cliffjumper," Ultra Magnus seethed after he recovered from the surprise. "I have asked before that you do not conduct your pranks at the dinner table." 

Cliffjumper chuckled and in the blink of an optic, an exact copy of Ultra Magnus was glaring at him from across the table. He picked up his fork and sat exactly how Ultra Magnus was sitting, his expression downcast and serious. 

"Cliffjumper, I have asked before that you do not conduct your pranks at the dinner table," When Cliffjumper spoke, it was Ultra Magnus's voice that came from his mouth. The taller blue God was not amused in the slightest as he slammed his servos down on the table, rising slightly from his seat. 

"Calm down, Mags. He's just lightening the mood," Smokescreen jumped in as Cliffjumper changed back into his regular form, shooting Arcee a wink and a smirk. "no need to get your shoulder pads in a bunch." 

Ultra Magnus's face twisted in an unreadable emotion and he huffed, but he sat down and returned to eating his food nonetheless. He always waited a moment or two before he took each bite of food, just in case it exploded in his face. 

The dinner table faded into easy conversation after that, Optimus, Fowler and Ultra Magnus talking about patrols and MECH activity while June and Ratchet talked about how the last of the Novian people were recovering from the recent outbreak of the flu. The children were engaged in their own loud conversations, Miko demonstrating with her chips as a diagram on how she and Raf had to corral the cows back into their pens after Jack had opened the door to their pen on accident. 

After everyone was stuffed with burgers and chips and salads, Arcee revealed that she had been in charge of dessert. After she snapped her digits, a beautiful piece of pie appeared on everyone's plate, ranging from blueberry to apple to pecan. 

Cliffjumper was quick to compliment his wife after he had one bite of the pie, and miscellaneous comments filtered in from everyone else after they had a few bites of their own pie. 

And maybe it was Optimus and Ratchet complimenting each other in their old married couple fashion or Cliffjumper and Arcee cracking inside jokes with each other, but a sad feeling started to pool in Bulkhead's gut. He watched the interactions of the bonded pairs in front of him and he couldn't help the jealousy that settled into his spark. 

Bulkhead would never admit it to anyone - Pit he could barely even admit it to himself - but he was lonely. He hated it, he hated it with every fiber of his being that he felt this way, but he couldn't help the feelings of jealousy settling in his spark as he watched Arcee and Cliffjumper bicker and laugh at each other. 

Part of Bulkhead had given up any hope that he could find someone; someone who made him happy in a way that no one else could. He had determined that the reason that he was still alone was because Primus was a sick fragger and he just loved to watch him suffer any chance he got. 

Sure, Bulkhead wasn't the only single mech in the group of Gods, but Ultra Magnus was _Ultra Magnus_ , 'nough said. At the last meeting, Dreadwing had confirmed that plenty of them still remained single, like himself and Shockwave and Airachnid for example. 

Bulkhead didn't really find that encouraging, but he kept that to himself. 

Bulkhead must have gotten so absorbed in his jealousy and self-loathing because he failed to notice Miko drawing her arm back, a clump of pie clutched in her fist. 

Bulkhead grunted as blueberry pie made contact with his right cheek, and he whirled his gaze to focus on the small girl. Miko chuckled and reached over to grab two giant fistfuls of Optimus's pie, while Bulkhead grabbed one of his own giant fist fulls of Smokescreen's pie. 

"Hey!" The white mech protested, grabbing Bulkhead's leftover pie to launch at him. Bulkhead was faster and _hurled_ his pie at Smokescreen's face, hitting him dead on. 

Bulkhead had barely any time to relish his small victory before he was belted in the back by a few splatters of pie. He turned around to see Arcee getting ready to launch another. But as Bulkhead tried to throw a piece of apple pie at her, the blue femme ducked, causing the pie to collide right onto Ratchet's chest. 

The dinner table collectively froze as they waited for Ratchet to throw them out of the temple. The white and red God wiped the pie chunks off of his chest with a grimace before he glared up at Bulkhead. The Earth God offered an awkward smile and opened his mouth to apologize, but Ratchet surprised them all by picking up his own pie and throwing it in Bulkhead's direction. 

He missed and hit Smokescreen, but the effort was there. 

The main temple resumed in loud laughter and screams as a full out food fight ensued, the teams switching from Gods against Valerans to girls against boys to every man for themselves, and it was spectacular. 

A little while later, Bulkhead was hiding behind a flipped over table that was being used as a makeshift shield, generating a new piece of food in his servos to launch towards Bumblebee, who was hiding across the room behind his own makeshift protection system. He made a smaller piece of food for Miko, who graciously took it, ready to attack Raf whenever Bulkhead gave the word. 

"Wait," Bulkhead said quietly as food flew over the table. "Now!" 

Miko spun around the corner, a battle cry rising from her throat and Bulkhead stood up over the top of the table, his servo drawn back to launch his food. He tried to launch the food, but was stopped short as his spark twisted in his chest. 

Bulkhead grunted and gasped in pain, dropping the food and almost hitting Miko as it fell. 

"Hey! Watch it-" Miko gasped as she looked up at Bulkhead, who was turning a different color and stumbling on his pedes. "Ratchet! Bulkhead needs help!" 

Bulkhead was starting to loose focus as his vision began to black out, his audio receptors barely able to focus on any noise in the temple. He was seeing triple and the room was spinning; he could barely tell if he was still standing from the immense pain. He gasped as his spark twisted before it seemed to pull in his chest, like it was trying to tear itself out of his chest cavity. 

Bulkhead groaned as his body convulsed and he felt his wires and gears shifting apart inside of him, as if he was being split in two. It felt like someone had thrown acid all over his body and then tried to pump it down all of his wires instead of energon. Bulkhead's vision whitened out for a brief moment and he let out a cry of pain. 

'What's…happening to me?' Bulkhead thought to himself as he felt a strange feeling of nausea pass through his gut and he placed a servo over his mouth as he realized it was a very likely possibility he could throw up Cliffjumper's meal. 'Am I dying? Is this what dying feels like?' 

"Bulkhead, respond!"

"What's wrong with him!" 

"Give him some space!" 

Bulkhead groaned as he felt himself falling, his optics off lining before he hit the temple floor. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Sleeping was supposed to be therapeutic. Relax the muscles, calm the brain. Benefit the whole body and whatever. 

Sleeping for roughly three hundred years? Not so therapeutic. 

Her entire body ached. Every inch her form moved was pure agony, especially since she wasn't possessing a form at the moment. 

She forced herself to open her optics, taking in the scene around her. 

She was surrounded by tall trees, the ground beneath her feet soft and slightly damp. Around her, birds were singing and there was the sound of trickling water in the distance, and if she listened closely she could hear a few fish swimming around in the water, a frog or two singing their tunes. 

Disgusting. 

She raised her hand and clenched her fist, and immediently, dark tentacles shot up from the ground, enveloping the small pool of water in its pure blackness. There was a sickened squelching noise followed by a rumbling noise; the ground beneath her feet shaking slightly. 

When the shaking stopped, the pool was gone, buried underneath the ground. A large black hole had taken its place, the swarm of blackness slowly spreading out around it. 

She rose to her feet and looked around. 

Her brothers and sisters weren't with her. 

She scoffed. _Weaklings_. Must she do _everything_ for them? 

She raised her arms, looking up towards the sky. Immediately, the clouds above her darkened and lightning flashed around her, loud booms of thunder following soon after. 

She didn't have to wait long before her brothers and sisters began to appear. 

They were moving in their spirit forms; flying balls of darkness flying at unnatural speeds towards her. Flecks of darkness flew off the back of them, and shrill screams filled the air around her the closer they got. 

The sun was blotched out of the sky, taken over by the dark storm clouds she'd made. 

Her brothers and sisters landed beside her, staining the ground with their darkness where they stood. They snarled and screamed in their unnatural ways, rising to their full heights. 

She rolled her eyes. 

"Must you all be so dramatic?" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips. 

"We've been asleep for hundreds of years, Obscurity. We have a right to be dramatic." One said, and Obscurity chuckled. 

"No Null, we have a _right_ to destroy the Gods and fulfill our destiny." One of Obscurity's sisters spat. 

"Now now, Crash. We will destroy the Gods in due time. Let them suffer for a while, waiting for us to strike. The waiting game is the best part." Obscurity argued. 

"Do they know we wake?" Null asked, his voice shrill and he screamed once he finished his sentence. 

Obscurity took a deep breath in, closing her optics at the pure sensation of _breathing_ after hundreds of years of simply not breathing. "I hope so. I do hope they know we're coming, that we are coming to destroy everything they've ever loved." Obscurity allowed a smile to come to her lips. Twisted as it was, it was the brightest she'd smiled in a long time. "Fear is our greatest weapon after all."

"But what of The One?" Null asked, his optics narrowing. "Can we see him?" 

Crash sniffed the air, turning slightly as she tried to find the scent of The One. "I can't smell him. Either he's dead or far from the Gods."

Obscurity smiled wider, the right side turning up farther into more of a smirk. "Let us use this to our advantage." 

Crash sniffed the air, opening her mouth in a sickening laughter. "I can smell them. They are far, but we can find them." 

"They've run, they've hidden, but now, the chase is on." Another one of Obscurity's brothers hissed, and the others joined in the laughter, the sky above them getting darker by the second. Beneath their feet, the ground was becoming black, the trees around them shriveling and fading away into nothing but ash, flowing away into the wind. 

It wouldn't be long now before the planet crumbled. 

"Then let's not keep them waiting," Obscurity hummed. "Let's go pay our beloved cousins a visit." 

The Children of Unicron let out shrill screams once more, puffs of smoke surrounding them. When the smoke cleared, Predacons of pure darkness were in their place, the blackness oozing off of their plating in waves, flecking off into the air around them. Their optics were lit in a red flame, the backs of their throat glowing with their dragon fire. 

They wasted no time in taking flight, roaring and screaming as they left the atmosphere, and flew into the vast space beyond.

The planet crumbled into darkness not five minutes after they left it. 

Just like Unicron had done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally get to meet the Titans! I've never really written an OC villain before, so I'm doing my best I swear. 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! New week, new chapter. 
> 
> There is some smut in this chapter, so if you don't like that stuff just skip the first scene and you'll be all good. This is the first smut I've ever written so for those of who you do read it I apologize if it's a little rough. 
> 
> I'm also hoping to post a one-shot sometime this week, if my work load isn't too bad and my brain cells can get together to write something else. 
> 
> Anyway, a huge thank you again to everyone who's stuck around and keeps reading this. Your support means the world to me! 
> 
> Enjoy and have a great day!

Breakdown was antsy. Things got smashed when Breakdown was antsy. 

It was a rule of thumb to never get Breakdown antsy. 

He was pacing the floor in his and Knock Out's shared berth room, one arm tucked across his chassis while his other was supporting his chin. He turned sharply on his heel and began the next strip of his pacing, taking exactly seven large steps before he turned on his heel and went back the other way. 

Knock Out was laying on their berth, the blankets pulled up across his body while he sipped tea out of his little mug. A book was floating in front of him, flipping its page whenever Knock Out swiped his digit across his chassis, mostly lost in thought as he struggled to focus on the words and not his spark mate's antics. Knock Out's glasses hung low on his nose plate, helping him read a little better. 

He took a sip of his tea and looked back up at Breakdown. "Sweet spark, you need to calm down." 

Breakdown didn't stop pacing, didn't even look up at Knock Out. "I can't calm down, Knock Out. You saw the way Megatron was glaring at Optimus at the last meeting, he's got somethin' terrible planned, I can feel it." Breakdown turned on his heel. 

"What? Like take on Optimus and the other Gods? Megatron may be stubborn but he's not stupid; he knows we need the others in order to fight against the Titans. He's not going to turn against them now." Knock Out argued, but it did little to soothe Breakdown's nerves. 

The big blue God continued to pace, paying Knock Out very little attention. 

Knock Out sighed and snapped his digits, his book, glasses and tea vanishing in a poof of cloud. "Breakdown, babe." 

Breakdown wasn't done; he was beginning to spiral. "What if he never lets us leave our planet again?!" Breakdown's optics were wide with worry. "All he would have to do is say the word and Soundwave would stand outside our door all day long, or Airachnid would send her Creations over to make sure no one left Tonin." Breakdown shivered. 

"Babe," Knock Out tried again, swinging his legs off the berth and standing up. "Calm down." 

"I can't calm down, Knock Out." Breakdown finally looked up at his husband, dropping his arms from around his chassis and chin. Knock Out walked over and stopped in front of him, reaching out with both his servos and rubbing his digits over Breakdown's plating. "I can't calm down, and you shouldn't be this calm either." 

Knock Out sighed. "I know I can't control Megatron, Breakdown. But I know I have you, and as long as I have you, I'll be fine." Knock Out said calmly, smiling softly up at his spark mate. 

"But the way he was acting at the last meeting…" Breakdown said quietly, less afraid now and more sad and discouraged. 

"He was _afraid_ , Breakdown. We all are." 

"You remember the time you were captured by Unicron and his Titans and he almost didn't rescue you?" 

Knock Out's spark skipped a beat as he recalled being captured by the Titans back when they were on Cybertron, the other faction desperate for information that would help them gain an edge in their quarrel. Megatron _was_ going to leave Knock Out to die, until he remembered that Knock Out carried the coordinates for a hidden God stronghold. It was only then he staged a rescue for the red God. 

"Breakdown, you can't let that get to you. Megatron gives Optimus that look after every meeting that doesn't talk about only the best news. You know the only thing he hates more than Crow is being blindsided, especially by Optimus." Knock Out argued softly, moving Breakdown so he was sitting down on their berth. Breakdown sat down reluctantly and Knock Out stood between his thighs, his servos cupping Breakdown's cheeks. 

Breakdown nodded slowly. "We have been gettin' a lot of bad news lately…" He trailed off and looked back up at Knock Out. "Just…don't leave me, alright?" 

Knock Out huffed, a smile on his lips. "Breakdown, I promised that I wouldn't leave you when you first imprinted on me and we bonded. I'm not going to break that promise now." 

Knock Out leaned down and pulled their lips together in a kiss. It was chaste and quick, but it served its purpose. Knock Out sent waves of love through their bond which Breakdown reciprocated. 

When they broke up, Breakdown's optics were still sad. "I just don't wanna loose you." 

Knock Out rubbed his thumb over Breakdown's cheek. "You'll never loose me. You'd have to stick me in a spaceship and send me away to get rid of me. " A mischievous glint entered Knock Out's optics. "Sounds like someone needs a reminder on that." 

"Knock Out, offering sexual favors for my relaxation? Never heard of that on' before." Breakdown as Knock Out lowered himself between his thighs. 

"You need to relax, sweet spark. You know it chips your finish when you stress. Chips mine too; all this negative energy. None of that." Knock Out said, reaching up and pushing Breakdown's shoulder back so he was resting against the wall. 

Knock Out refocused on his work, a smirk settling on his lips.

The red God began to trace a gentle trail of kisses up and down Breakdown's left thigh, until he switched and began the same treatment on the right. Wherever his mouth wasn't, his servos picked up the slack. His thin digits weaved between Breakdown's plating easily, pulling at wires and cables Knock Out knew to be sensitive after years of practice. 

"Knock Out…" Breakdown breathed down, his voice calmer and it now held more of a sing-song edge to it. "oh, baby." 

Knock Out continued his work, tracing on servo up and down Breakdown's interface panel whenever he switched sides. Before long, the Titan's panel opened with a tell tale /whoosh/. 

Breakdown's spike was exactly how Knock Out liked it: big and blue. It was thick and a beautiful piece of work with a single orange stripe and two gray stripes on the underside of it. It had hurt quite a bit for days after Knock Out and Breakdown interfaced the first couple times, but once Knock Out had gotten used to it, it was definitely worth it. 

Knock Out started by tracing his glossa on the underside, lapping at the bead of transfluid that was beginning to come from the tip. Knock Out ran his fingers over the base a few times, wrapping his entire servo around the thick length. He gave it a few pumps and Breakdown let out a moan and gripped onto the berth side. 

"Knock Out, keep that up and I won't last long." Breakdown gasped out, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of heat around his spike. Knock Out hummed but said nothing. 

Knock Out opened his mouth and took almost the entirety of Breakdown's spike in his mouth, able to fit most of it. The tip of his mate's spike touched the back of his throat, and that was his cue to stop. What he couldn't fit in his mouth - which he was always proud to admit wasn't much - he wrapped his servo and continued. 

Knock Out hummed around the spike in his mouth, and Breakdown moaned again. The God's servo found its way to the back of Knock Out's head as the red Titan began to bob his head and move his servo in time with each other. Breakdown's servo found a rhythm with Knock Out's mouth, and soon they were setting a brutal pace around Breakdown's spike. 

Knock Out let out another hum and bit down slightly on Breakdown's spike, and the blue mech responded by pushing a little harder on the back of Knock Out's head. 

"Knock Out, I'm gonna…" Breakdown didn't bother to try and contain his cry. His servo tightened around the berth and Knock Out's helm. Knock Out didn't let up, swallowing every drop of transfluid he got and continuing to milk Breakdown throughout his overload. 

Knock Out broke off with a loud pop, running his glossa over Breakdown's spike a few times to clean up any extra transfluid he'd missed. Breakdown, in turn, materialized a wet cloth for them to use, wiping down Knock Out's chassis thoroughly before he moved onto himself. 

"What me to do you?" Breakdown asked, smirking a little as Knock Out rose from between his thighs. Knock Out expertly swerved to miss Breakdown's chest - it had happened several times that'd stood and hit his head on Breakdown's chest, rookie mistake - and smiled at his mate. Breakdown's interface panel remained open, his spike hanging almost innocently between his thighs. "We've got time, I can just make Dreadwing take my patrol." 

Knock Out shook his head as Breakdown laid down on their berth. "That's alright, you just owe me for later then. I expect the best interface and nothing less." Breakdown nodded eagerly as Knock Out crawled into bed and laid down beside him. 

The two of them cuddled together, Knock Out fitting perfectly against Breakdown's chest. They were silent for a moment, Breakdown pulling up their blankets to cover them.

"Breakdown?" 

"Yes, babe?" 

Knock Out paused. "I was being serious, you know. I would never leave you." 

Breakdown wrapped his arms around Knock Out and gave a tight squeeze. "I know." Breakdown placed a kiss on Knock Out's forehead. "Goodnight, honey." 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Wheeljack was woken up by him slipping in his chair and falling face first onto his dash. 

Wheeljack's head snapped back, only to collide with his chair. Wheeljack groaned as he steadied himself, holding both the front and back of his helm. 

"Ouch," The white mech muttered to himself. 

Once he was sure he wasn't going to hit his head again, Wheeljack dropped his servos from around his face and opened his optics. Out of the front of the Jackhammer, he could still see the stars flying past in blurred lines, and all systems were still functioning normally. His music had turned off sometime in his sleep, so Wheeljack was sitting in silence, the only noise the soft hum of the engine beneath his feet. 

Wheeljack pushed himself up from the pilot's chair before he turned and walked backwards a few steps, stretching his limbs as he went. He sighed in contentment as a few joints and gears popped in his back, and his shoulder shifted back into place. He'd meant to get that looked at a long time ago, but he just never had the time to. 

Wheeljack leaned down to open his small refrigerator where his rust sticks were being stored, and he hummed to himself as he stood up at turned around.

The rust sticks fell from his servos as they changed into one blaster and the other ignited with his orange flame, aimed at the familiar white figure in his pilot's chair. 

The mech was just like he remembered him; tall and clumsy looking in a perfect kind of way, a smile planted firmly on his face plates. He was sitting perfectly in the chair - Wheeljack was confident then that the chair had grown a little to perfectly seat the mech, it was styled perfectly for him and no one else - his hands folded in his lap, and his bright blue optics were meeting Wheeljack's, as mysterious as they had been the last time. 

"Hi, again…" Wheeljack said awkwardly, not lowering his blaster or fiery servo. 

The mech lifted his free servo and offered him a small wave, the smirk firmly planted on his lips. His gaze shifted so he was looking at Wheeljack's servo, that was still on fire, glowing brightly in the dim light of the hanger. Wheeljack put out the flame, but didn't drop his blaster. 

"Still not going to talk to me, huh?" Wheeljack asked even though he already knew the answer. The mech shook his head. "That's rude where I come from ya know." 

The mech's frame shook again in his phantom laughter before he lifted his servo again. He took his servo and reached behind him, placing his palm onto the dash. Wheeljack grunted as he felt himself lurch and the Jackhammer's engine roared even louder beneath his pedes. 

"What did you just do?!" Wheeljack demanded, changing his blaster and fire back into his servos. The mech only shrugged, snapping his fingers. 

In less than a blink, Wheeljack was back in his pilot's chair, turned outwards towards the stars. For a split moment, Wheeljack's spark dropped as he thought the green mech was gone - _again_ \- leaving him alone in the Jackhammer to think about his latest dream.

His thoughts were interrupted as his chair was suddenly swiveled around and he was face to face with the green mech again, who was nibbling on one of his rust sticks. 

Wheeljack groaned. "Those are mine!" He protested, trying to reach out and grab the package the mech was still holding. The mech twisted and shifted the rust sticks into his far servo, the smirk ever present even around the rust stick. 

Wheeljack's optics widened as the mech let go of the package, but instead of falling to the floor, it hovered in midair. 

"What the-" Wheeljack's thoughts were once again interrupted as the mech lowered himself in between Wheeljack's thighs, his helm about even with Wheeljack's now. Their optics were locked on each other's, and the green mech's servos were suddenly planted on Wheeljack's thighs. 

Wheeljack sucked in a breath, he was sure his spark beating a million times a second; he was certain the mech above him could hear the thud of his spark against its chamber. But when he looked at the mech, he was looking at Wheeljack almost pensively, his thumbs moving over the ridges on his thighs. The smirk was gone from his lips, replaced by an almost blissful smile. 

"What are you doin'?" Wheeljack asked shakily. "Or, what are you _gonna_ to do to me?"

The mech's servos moved from Wheeljack's thighs, his digits tracing delicately over Wheeljack's plating before they reached his servos. Their digits interlocked, slotting together almost as perfectly as how the mech was positioned across from him. 

Wheeljack looked up again from their interlocked servos into the mech's optics, greeted this time with a bright white. Had they always been like that? Wheeljack couldn't remember now; he could only focus on the mech's figure as it glowed a little, his body glowing right along with it. 

The mech leaned close to Wheeljack's audio receptor and whispered, "I'm claiming what's mine." 

Wheeljack had barely any time to register that the mech had actually _spoken to him_ , his voice perfectly matching the rugged appearance of the mech before him. 

Wheeljack's vision suddenly whitened out, and he felt weightless as images flashed in his mind. 

The white mech was gone, everything was gone; the Jackhammer, the rust sticks still hovering in midair, the stars around him. All gone. 

Wheeljack was in a field, watching two sides of large metal beings similar to himself engaging in battle, blue energon splattering onto the floor. He saw himself charging into the fight, blasters drawn and aiming at whatever beings came his way. His optics were glowing a bright white, fire igniting on the ground where he had ran. 

The image changed and Wheeljack saw he was seated at a large table, enough food to feed Cybertron's entire population twenty times over laid out decoratively on the surface. The figures around the dream him were laughing, enjoying each other's company. Some of them Wheeljack recongized from the battle he had previously witnessed, but the other figures around the table were small, organic beings that Wheeljack had never seen before. 

The image changed yet again to Wheeljack and the green mech dancing underneath a large tree, small glowing orbs flying around them. Wheeljack felt his spark soar as he saw he and the green mech were looking at each other with all the love in the world; as if there was no one else around. 

The image changed a final time, and Wheeljack found himself standing over a large berth, two figures laid out in it, huddled against each other. Sunlight was entering through the doorway to the structure they were in as well as through the ceiling, shining down on Wheeljack and the green mech. Thin white sheets were almost lazily placed around them, their optics closed and their digits intertwined. 

Wheeljack felt something snap and something deep, deep in his being felt as if it was being reconnected and put back into place. 

Wheeljack lurched again - really, much more of this and he would loose his breakfast - and he was back in his pilot's seat, the green mech still sitting between his thighs. His optics had returned to blue. 

Their servos were still intertwined. 

Wheeljack attempted to pull one servo out from the mech's grasp, only to find the mech was holding on tight. Wheeljack opened his mouth to speak before he looked down at his own servo. 

While his arms looked largely the same; the white and red paint chipped in some areas where the rest was perfectly smooth, there was one gaping difference. On the inside of his left forearm, was a name. 

_Bulkhead_. 

Written in sloppy handwriting and the writing looked foreign and strange, but Wheeljack instantly recognized the ancient Cybertronian alphabet from millions of years ago. He'd had to write a paper in only that old Cybertronian, it would be hard for him to forget it so easily. 

"What did you do?" Wheeljack asked, his voice barely a whisper. He looked up at the green mech, who had returned to smiling at him. 

Wheeljack couldn't describe it, but he _heard_ the mech's voice in his mind, as if he was speaking to him. But the mech's lips didn't move. 

"I'll see you soon, Wheeljack." 

The mech lifted a servo and snapped his fingers, and Wheeljack's vision went white. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

The decision for the Gods to split up into two factions to live on two separate planets hadn't been an easy one. Strength in numbers, and what not. 

Optimus had wanted to stay together, to stay together as their little makeshift family and try and find a planet large enough to support them all, and serve as a refuge before the Titans found them. Megatron had urged him to see reason; if they stayed together, they were a large target on the Titan's radar. Easier pickings, easier for the Titans to kill them all at once. 

The Gods had been divided, their journey across the stars coming to a halt for weeks as they tried to figure out what to do. The opinions of each and every God changed multiple times, their decision on what should happen conflicted and never quite sure. 

After weeks of realizing the Gods were starting to become toxic towards one another, Megatron had tried to stress that he hadn't suggested a schism to drive a wedge in between the Gods, he was merely trying to help. Optimus knew this, but the seeds of doubt were placed in everyone's minds now, and the conversation could not die. 

It had been decided that they would split up; those who made the final decision to leave would get off the Ark at the closest planet on their radar, while the rest would stay aboard and continue to look. If the party on the Ark could find a habitable planet and the other party wanted to come back, the door would be open. 

So Megatron led his half of the party onto Tonin, where they had found nearly the most perfect planet for them. Mostly uninhabited, save for a few species of wildlife. They set up camp and reported to the other Gods that they were just fine, and for the moment, they would stay separate. 

Megatron knew that the two parties of Gods being separate would cause issues, for example, not being told important things as they happened. But in the few dozen years they'd lived on Tonin and the other Gods lived on Valeran, Optimus would send messages twice a day, and the meetings kept him up to date on all the important issues, like he and his fellow Gods never left. 

The issue of Bumblebee's vision was the first major thing that Optimus had waited to tell him about. 

To look at it from Optimus's perspective, Megatron would have likely done the same thing. He would have waited the few days it took for the meeting to come around, since the Titans did not pose an _immediate_ threat at the moment. He would have wanted to tell everyone at once, hear everyone's perspective on the matter at once. 

Still, he couldn't help but feel hurt. 

The simulation he'd started was a rigorous one, twenty three rounds of high intensity fighting with specific requirements on how to fight each opponent. Some of his opponents had powers, others did not. 

Megatron was on the last level, and he was exhausted. 

Not that he was going to let that stop him anyway. 

Megatron clenched one of his fists, a black rod forming out of the center of his fist. Within moments he was holding a long sharp sword, the blade dark and it made a small gurgling noise as he swung it side to side. 

The stimulation released six mechs, all a dark gray and faceless. Their servos were glowing with a power of their own: one had lightning, another light, there was ice, earth, and the last two both had wind swirling around their servos, which told Megatron one of them was a shapeshifter. 

The God wasted no time in raising his free servo and extended his fingers, dark black tentacles extending outwards. The Bot with light as his power stepped in front of the others, raising his servos and deflecting the darkness as it came. Megatron noted that the other five Bots were moving away from his blast, getting into position to attack. 

Megatron saw out of the corner of his optic the two wind Bots raising their servos, and Megatron had to dig his pedes into the ground to keep from being lifted up into the air. 

He was so drained from the past simulations and focused on his feet sticking to the ground he failed to notice the lightning Bot charge up his powers, the dim optics glowing faintly with the immense power. Megatron was hit by several beads of lightning, and sent flying into the wind tunnel. 

Megatron let out a cry of pain as he watched his own energon leak from a new wound on his side, his protocols already trying to heal him. He was flying around too madly in the wind tunnel to steady himself, so his body flipped and spun around the simulation room. 

"Enough of this," Megatron muttered to himself, curling in slightly so the gray cloud could surround him. Within moments, he had shifted to his Predacon form, a loud roar escaping his throat. 

He opened his wings and allowed the wind to work for him; he stopped spinning almost immediently. Beneath him, the six Bots were now charging up for their next attack, their wind tunnel gone as well. His throat felt hot and bile-like as he charged up his flame, the darkness of it already seeping out of the sides of his mouth.

Megatron exhaled and the dark flame came out with it, hitting each of the six Bots and enveloping them in a dark black cloud. The Bots attempted to break through the dark bubble with no success, their powers doing nothing to help them. 

As Megatron landed back on the ground and shifted back into his regular form, the dark bubble began deteriorating around the six Bots, their gray forms slowly becoming nothing more than dust. Megatron couldn't help the smirk that came to his face as he watched one of the Bots reach out to him, Earth still moving around his plating, until his form eventually shifted into the darkness and dust of the bubble. 

"A most interesting display," Megatron didn't turn until the last of the Bots had been disintegrated, but even before he turned he knew exactly who was speaking to him. Sure enough, when he looked over his shoulder one of his good friends Dreadwing was standing there, a ghost of a smile on his face plates. 

"Why thank you, Dreadwing." Megatron said sincerely. "You should also try out the new simulation system; Shockwave really out-performed even himself this time." 

Dreadwing nodded, but they both knew he had no intention of using the simulations. Dreadwing had his own way of practicing, it usually required a lot more meditation and calmness that Megatron thought necessary, but Dreadwing was one of the finest warriors Megatron had ever fought beside, and even in all the years since the Great War, the mech hadn't lost his touch. 

So Megatron did it his way, and Dreadwing never faltered in his own practices. 

"Is there something you needed?" Megatron snapped his fingers and the piles of dust disappeared, and the clouds of blackness flew back towards his servo. The small beads of black flew around his digits for a moment before they dissipated into thin air, but Megatron could feel his balance of power returning. 

"Just an update," Dreadwing said, and the two of them began to walk beside each other out of the training hall. "Breakdown and Knock Out volunteered for dinner tonight." 

"So we can expect a few hour's delay as they try and decide on a meal." 

Dreadwing hummed his amusement. "Perhaps. Soundwave reported that the others of Valeran have received no visions or news concerning the Titans, and he has been unable to access any of his own visions." 

"Does Primus not wish to speak with him?" 

"He doesn't know. It's beginning to drive Starscream crazy, and in turn, all of us." 

This time it was Megatron who hummed his amusement. "What else?" 

"Ultra Magnus said that MECH is becoming more bold with their border, less respectful of where it lies." 

"They are concerned with MECH? The pitiful fleshies?" 

"They pose a small threat, and they have become more understanding of our technology in the years the others have been on Valeran. So yes, they are concerned with MECH." 

Megatron rolled his optics but allowed Dreadwing to continue. "Airachnid and Shockwave reported as usual; Nova is doing very well, recovering properly. And I know you do not specifically care for Queen Beth, but she really does respect you." 

"I never said I didn't like her," Megatron argued. "She has a lot of interesting characteristics that make her quiet likable. But she is annoying to me." 

"Crow is also doing well. He continues to demonstrate worry about the Titans, and every time I speak to him he seems to know more and more secretive things about them." 

"From Airachnid, you propose?" 

"Likely. Or possibly Smokescreen or Cliffjumper when they get too eager and start to over step their boundaries." 

The two Gods exited the hallway that led out to the God camp, the sun becoming so bright so fast they needed to put a servo over their optic to block out some of the light. 

The God camp on Tonin was very similar to the God camp on Valeran, but also very different. There were large temples in a circle surrounding a large one in the center. Each of the temples held a statue or two above them, showing who lived their and what their power was. But while the Gods on Valeran had the small village beside their temples, the Gods on Tonin did not. Instead, they had other large temple buildings that served a variety of purposes; the training hall Megatron and Dreadwing were walking out of, the mess hall where they ate every night, and the throne room, just to name a few. 

It wasn't Cybertron, but it was perfect anyway. 

Once his optics had adjusted, Megatron reached up and placed a servo on Dreadwing's shoulder, smiling down at him. "Thank you, old friend for the update." 

Dreadwing nodded and moved to walk away, but Dreadwing tightened his grip on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. 

"I want you to send two squadrons of soldiers out to the stars, one to see if they can find any signs of the Titans getting closer. We are closer to Cybertron than the other Gods are, so we have a better chance of seeing the Titans before they do." 

Dreadwing nodded. "And the other?" 

"To Iclic. I have a bad feeling about Crow and Airachnid."

"Of course, Megatron." 

Megatron allowed him to walk away then, his arm falling limp at his side. He allowed himself to stay in position for a little while longer, looking out on the Gods and their home. 

It hadn't been an easy decision to come to Tonin, but it had been worth it. Megatron didn't regret it for a moment. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Even before Bulkhead opened his optics, pain swarmed his entire body. His joints ached and his stomach churned angrily. His optics were burning, and it felt like his neural net was on fire. 

He couldn't even sit up, so he attempted a groan instead, hoping someone was around to help ease his pain. 

"Easy, Bulkhead." Bulkhead would have sighed in relief if it didn't hurt him to do so. He could feel Ratchet's powers working over his body, the pain becoming less and less burning and more of a soreness. "Take it easy, there is no rush to stand at the moment." 

"I told you he would wake up, Ratchet!" Bulkhead groaned again as Miko's loud voice flooded his audio receptor. As much as he loved her, she had a tendency to always be on the loud side. Which was normally great, when he wasn't nursing a headache the size of Cybertron. "Bulk's too strong!" 

"Miko, keep your voice down please." Optimus's calm and soothing voice was music to Bulkhead's audio receptors. "Bulkhead needs quiet right now, more than he needs a cheerleader." 

Bulkhead forced himself to open his optics with another loud groan, the blurriness of the room slowly becoming more defined the more he blinked. 

He recognized the walls of Ratchet's medical bay easily, the light brown brick a comforting tone. He was laid out on one of the many medical berths, which was surprisingly comfortable. There were a few wires connected to his body, likely providing nutrients and energon. Ratchet, Optimus, Miko, and Raf were in the medical bay, concern and excitement mixed in on their faces. 

"How long was I out?" Bulkhead forced himself to say, gladly accepting the glass of energon from Ratchet, sipping through the straw. Once Ratchet deemed he had enough, the Healer God pulled the cube away, setting it down on the bedside table. 

"About three days. I was honestly expecting longer, your vitals were pretty touch and go during the first and second day." Raf inputted, and Miko nudged his shoulder. 

"I told you Bulkhead was too strong! Always exceeding expectations." Miko flashed him a wink and a large smile, but Bulkhead could see right through it that she was just as relieved that he woke up as the rest of the Gods in there were. 

"Yes, indeed." Optimus said, humor in his tone. He was giving Bulkhead his classic 'dad smile', and Bulkhead smiled back. 

"Do you know why I was out?" Bulkhead asked a little shakily. "I only remember having a food fight in the Main Temple when I got a stabbing pain in my spark," Bulkhead subconsciously lifted his servo and placed it over his plating, itching at the tenderness there. "And then I woke up here."

"We're not sure why you passed out," Ratchet admitted. "I was going to bring in Bumblebee in when you were feeling up to it, have a look in your mind to try and determine some possibilities." 

Bulkhead nodded. "Bring him in, let's get this over with." 

Ratchet scoffed. "Yip, yip yip. You are _not_ ready yet. You will need at least a day to recover some strength, you know you'll need it for Bumblebee's tests." 

Bulkhead groaned, but agreed, adjusting himself on the berth so he was more comfortable and accepting the energon cube again from Ratchet as he offered it. 

Ratchet deemed him ready a day and a half later, when Bulkhead was able to stand on his own, without the use of a cane or a fellow God. The rest of the Gods were summoned to Ratchet's medical bay - by request of Bulkhead, not Ratchet, as he insisted it would get too crowded, but Bulkhead wanted company for the ordeal he was about to endure - and watched silently as Bulkhead lowered himself into a chair. 

Bumblebee stepped beside him, waiting until Bulkhead nodded his consent to continue. Bumblebee raised his servos, and a faint golden light surrounded them as he placed them on Bulkhead's face plates. 

"So, tell me one more time," June spoke up as Bulkhead felt himself begin to grow numb. Ratchet's servos were glowing a faint red, telling Bulkhead he was trying to stop the pain before it started. The Earth God nodded his thanks, but they both knew that wasn't going to do much. "what exactly is happening here?" 

"Bumblebee is going to attempt to determine what went wrong that caused Bulkhead to pass out," Ratchet explained, his voice almost bored, the boredom that came when one explained something one too many times. "he is going to sync his brain to Bulkhead's, and attempt to determine the answer."

"And don't worry June, it won't fry his brain in the process," Smokescreen grunted as Cliffjumper elbowed him in the gut. "What? I'm trying to comfort her." 

"You did a sucky job," Fowler grunted, and put an arm around his wife. He looked up to Bulkhead then. "Don't worry, Two-Ton, Bee's got it under control." 

Bulkhead rolled his optics. "As if I would show weakness in front of you, little man. I ain't worried." Bulkhead glanced at Miko, who was doing very best to look brave. "I'll be okay, Miko." She offered him a confident smile in return, not trusting herself to not cry. 

::Alright then:: Bumblebee's voice silenced everyone else in the medical bay. ::Let's do this:: 

Bumblebee shut off his optics, his servos glowing a much brighter gold beside Bulkhead's body. The red of Ratchet's healing powers was quickly overtaken by the gold of Bumblebee's mind meld, and soon both Bots were surrounded in a bright golden glow. 

Bulkhead felt it the moment Bumblebee began to enter his mind, the second consciousness foreign and almost unwelcome in the back of his head. The hands on his cheeks were beginning to warm up, showing he was getting closer to making a full connection. 

The pain came next. 

Bulkhead's entire body lit up, almost as if he was on fire. He forced himself to keep still, clenching his hands around the armrests of the chair, biting his glossa to keep from screaming. 

Bumblebee's consciousness would take over soon, he just had to last until Bumblebee knocked him out. 

He could feel his consciousness beginning to weaken, but the pain was only getting worse. 

He threw his head back and let out a scream, but Bumblebee's servos remained firmly planted on his face. 

There was an ugly splintering noise and Bulkhead barely felt the pain of the chair splintering in his grasp; there was an ugly popping sound and something came loose deep inside of him; and the pain was gone. 

Bulkhead hung his head, his vision turning black within seconds. The voices of concern and a few scared cries faded to nothing around him. 

Bulkhead opened his optics, and saw nothing but blackness around him. He looked around and saw the medical bay was gone, the Gods and Miko were gone; he was alone. 

He looked beside him, and Bumblebee was standing there, his form glowing. He looked strong and confident as he approached him, but Bulkhead didn't have the strength to speak. 

::I got it from here, Bulk. You rest:: 

Bulkhead didn't need to be told twice. He turned his head back up towards the ceiling, and closed his optics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of a cliffhanger here, sorry about that ;) promise all the loose ends will be tied up soon! 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bumblebee dives into Bulkhead's mind in an attempt to know more on Bulkhead's fainting, and the answer sheds a new light on the prophecy and the plan to defeat the Titans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! 
> 
> I hope you all are staying safe and healthy and that you had a good week. I know I said I was going to try and post a little one-shot sometime this week, and I promise it's all written up and going through the final draft phase. I'm hopeful to get it out sometime this week as long as school isn't too overbearing. 
> 
> Anyway, a big thank you again to everyone who's been following along so far. Hope you all enjoy!

As a God, one was supposed to love and appreciate the powers they'd been given. They were a gift from Primus, given specifically to each and every God, with the hope that they would use that power in the best way possible, better than anyone else could with that specific power. 

Bumblebee had always loved his powers; joy came easy to him, spreading it to those around him and wind only helped with that, lifting the children into the air or being a formidable force on the battlefield. 

Bumblebee knew better than anyone the wrath of the Titans. He'd been captured and interrogated by them, and when he couldn't - _wouldn't_ \- provide the information they wanted, they took away his ability to speak, and made it so the damage could not be healed, by neither Ratchet nor his own healing abilities. But despite the horrible memories that haunted him every time he tried to sleep, he always had a smile in his optics and kept fighting the good fight. 

However, his mind abilities were not something he was particularly proud of. 

He had been given the mind abilities when a fellow God, Elita-1 had been gravely injured in battle, and like Bumblebee, they made it so she was unable to be healed. She had been Optimus's lover before he fell in love with Ratchet, and all her fellow Gods had loved her, so her death had hit them all hard. But Elita-1 had been somewhat of a mother figure to Bumblebee, acting as a guide through the war, and a brief wing-man in his quest for Smokescreen to notice him. 

Elita's title had been the Goddess of the Mind and Defiance, and on her deathbed, she transferred her powers to Bumblebee with the blessing of Primus. Bumblebee's own title remained the same, but he now carried all of the mind abilities Elita had already developed for him, and it was a welcome boost to Bumblebee's spirits. 

Her mind abilities allowed him to read minds, interpret dreams, have visions of the future, and connect his mind with another and see what they were seeing. It also gave him a way to speak without the use of his voice box; he spoke directly into their minds. 

He used most of the new gifts on a daily basis, but some he rarely used. The visions were few and far between and he had no way to predict when they were coming, and the mind meld was tricky and painful for the host. When Bumblebee entered their mind, it effectively knocked them out, but the time period before being rendered unconscious was excruciating. The only real benefit for Bumblebee was that he could speak again in the mind melds. 

Bumblebee was now surrounded by blackness on all sides, waiting for Bulkhead's memories to play around him, to show him what he was looking for. Bulkhead's still form laid behind him; his consciousness, unable and unwilling to respond. 

There was a hum that redirected Bumblebee's attention to the opposite direction, and a black screen was now moving towards him. 

A gateway, Bumblebee had dubbed them, because they were a gateway directly into the memory Bumblebee wanted to see. 

When the gateway stopped just before him, Bumblebee hesitated before stepping inside. Most memories were clear and defined; Bumblebee could get an idea of what would be in it before he stepped inside. But this gateway was blurred and distorted, and the image constantly flickered. 

It meant it wasn't entirely Bulkhead's memory, it might not be a memory at all. 

If it wasn't a memory, then it most likely was… 

Bumblebee paused. "His Soul's Exit?" He took a step back. "When did Bulkhead get a Soul's Exit?"

Bumblebee hesitated a moment more, before he lifted a pede and stepped inside, pushing through the thin layer of water like substance that stood between him and the image. 

Once he was on the other side, the scene became a little more clear and defined; Bumblebee could look around him and get a good view of everything. 

He was on a ship, a small one that could maybe fit two to three people, nothing like the Ark the Gods had traveled on. It looked to be an up to date, modern ship, quipped with both basic and advanced systems. It had been a while since Bumblebee had been _on_ a ship at all, so he didn't really know if the standards had changed. 

"Who are you?" 

Bumblebee turned, his optics coming to rest on a mecha. He was shorter, about Bumblebee's size, with white and gray plating, as well as a few red and green accents. His optics were a bright blue, and his lips were scarred and turned down in a distrusting frown. He looked Cybertronian, his frame was strikingly similar to the Gods, but going by the way he carried himself, he was not a God. 

He carried himself like a scared man; he'd seen some tragedy and hardship, but he thought he'd seen all there was to life already. His optics were cold and calculating; he appeared smart and focused. He looked ready to draw the swords Bumblebee could see on his back, but Bumblebee had no idea of knowing if he was good or not. 

" _What_ are you?" The mech asked again. Bumblebee hesitated, slightly offended. 

"Please tell me you can speak." He sounded almost desperate. 

Bumblebee tilted his helm. "Yeah, I can." He replied curtly. 

"Thank Primus." The mech slumped into the chair behind him, sighing in relief. "I've had too much of strange, transparent mechs who don't talk back to me." 

Woah, that was a lot to unpack. Bumblebee took a step forward, pointing aimlessly at the mech. "Wait, what do you mean 'strange, transparent mechs'? There's been more?" 

"Yeah," The mech took a long swig of something; from the smell Bumblebee could tell it was some kind of high grade. "the last one was a big green Bot, I've seen him a coupl' times already, barely said more than five words to me. Then he left. Kinda hot, but you didn't hear that from me." 

"Bulkhead?" Bumblebee asked, and the white mech stiffened. A gleam flashed in the mech's optics at the name, and Bumblebee _swore_ he saw sparks ignite from his finger tips. 

"Bulkhead…" The mech echoed, as if the word was some delicacy on his tongue. He seemed to remember something then, because he switched the bottle to his opposite hand and lifted up his arm for Bumblebee to see. Bumblebee took a small step forward, careful not to overstep his bounds and noticed a name on the white mech's arm. 

He recognized Bulkhead's messy handwriting instantly. 

'Holy scrap.' Bumblebee thought to himself, looking up at the mech before him. He wasn't meeting Bumblebee's optics, still staring at the writing on his arm as if it would jump out or move to form a different word. 

Bumblebee cleared his throat to get the mech's attention again. "Backtrack, you know Primus?" 

"Yup." 

"Are you from Cybertron?" 

"Yup." 

Bumblebee's spark dropped in his chest. 

Could it be? 

Bumblebee tilted his head again and couldn't help the disgusted look that came to his face. 

_This_ mech right here was supposed to save them from the Titans? He looked like he could take on maybe three attackers on a good day. 

"Okay, you complain about Bulkhead not talking a lot, but you haven't said a lot either." 

The mech cast him a glare. "I don't know you, and I don't want to. I'm just tryin' to get ta Valeran, and all I get instead is ghosts makin' no sense to me."

Bumblebee could have fallen over. "Wait, so you're _from Cybertron_ , you're on _your way to Valeran_ , you've _seen Bulkhead_ …" Bumblebee trailed off as the mech took another long drink of the high grade. "What's your power?" 

The mech choked on his high grade, coughing and sputtering as he struggled to choke the energon out of his air way. Once he'd recovered, he glared up at Bumblebee, his servo clenching onto the glass so hard it nearly cracked. "How did you know 'bout that?" 

Bumblebee shrugged and lifted his servo, allowing a small wind tunnel to form out of the palm of his hand. The mech's optics lit up, and he sat up straighter, placing the bottle down on the controls behind him. Bumblebee closed his servo after a moment, and the wind died with it. 

There was a long, painful minute of silence where the mech didn't move, his optics not seeing as he stared at a spot across the wall. His mouth was opening and closing a little as if he was speaking, but no words were coming out. 

Bumblebee sighed and turned after a few long sentences had passed, shaking his servos around his head. "Whatever, forget I asked, it's probably some crazy coincidence anyway," He turned and muttered under his breath, "Figures Primus would be this cruel." 

"No, wait." Bumblebee turned around, expecting the mech to give some snarky remark, but that wasn't the sight he was greeted with. 

The mech had lifted both servos, a a tiny emblem of fire was sitting in the palms of his hands, his optics glowing a faint orange the longer the flames burned. 

Bumblebee couldn't possibly describe the feeling of joy he had in his spark right now. 

_The prophecy is coming true_. 

Bumblebee felt a pull on his spark; a signal from Ratchet above that meant he needed to disconnect now. Bumblebee looked up and met the mecha's gaze, and he smiled at him through his mouth guard. 

"The name's Bumblebee." He said as he felt himself drifting away. 

The mech opened his mouth and a name came out, but Bumblebee couldn't hear it. He was already too far gone. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"Oh yes, Soundwave, right there. Perfect, yes that's perfect." Starscream let out a small moan and his optics fluttered closed. "Yes right there!" 

Soundwave didn't respond verbally - he never did - but he began digging his digits deeper into the spot on Starscream's back that he was currently massaging. Starscream hummed and his shoulders slumped in pure relaxation as Soundwave continued to rub out the various knots and tight wires in his back. 

"You know I wouldn't have these knots and all this tension in my wings if I wasn't constantly threatened in the workplace, and I could fly out into space without fear of being attacked." Starscream pointed out, tilted his head to the right to tell Soundwave to move that direction. "I'm going to end up as wretched looking as Knock Out if I keep getting shot at and threatened by our one, good master." 

Soundwave responded to that comment by digging his thumb a little harder than necessary into Starscream's back, and the God squeaked before he caught himself. "Uncalled for, Soundwave." 

Beneath his mask, Soundwave allowed himself to smile. Only a small smile that allowed his lips to curl up around the edges, this wasn't the place for excessive joy for Primus's sake. 

A comfortable silence fell between them, the only noise in their temple the music coming from a nearby music box; a soft tune from their days on Cybertron. 

Eventually, when Starscream decided he'd had enough on the receiving end, he turned and made Soundwave turn as well, before he began to massage the stiff joints and stressed gears in his mate's back. Soundwave responded similar to how Starscream did, relaxing under his touch and using video recordings to tell Starscream when he had hit a good spot. 

"Soundwave," Starscream said after a moment, his voice pensive but his tone conversational. "what do you think of the prophecy?" 

Soundwave was silent for a moment before an audio recording was selected and played. Starscream recongized the computerized tone easily. "Prophecy: a message from hope. Receiver: the Gods. Giver: Primus. Function of the prophecy: provide hope." 

Starscream nodded and Soundwave continued. "I believe," that was Dreadwing's voice now. "the prophecy can be our saving grace, but we must not come to depend on a measly little mech from Cybertron who we know very little about. It is illogical," Shockwave's cool tone. "likely will be arrogant, lazy, runs at the first sign of danger." Starscream resisted the urge to roll his optics at Airachnid's voice. 

"We must have faith. We must trust that Primus knows what's doing, the old fragger." Megatron's voice was the last audio recording Soundwave played. Starscream huffed. 

"And the timeline?" Starscream asked. "I, for one, was thinking we would have more eons before this Primus forsaken prophecy began to ruin our lives. Though I do not think I will miss this planet, the air corrodes my wings more often than not when in flight." 

The God of Night and Silence once again allowed himself to smile fondly under his mask, and he turned on the bed to look at his spark mate's face. "Starscream…my love." Those audio recorders were both from Knock Out, but his tone of voice spiked between each one, telling Starscream they were from different time periods. "Don't worry." Breakdown's nonchalant tone. 

Starscream rolled his optics this time before he reached forward and placed a servo on the side of Soundwave's face, tracing his thumb over the visor. "If you keep telling me to not worry, that makes me worry more." 

Soundwave laid down first, Starscream following suit and laying down beside him. Soundwave reached his servo out and the blankets responded to his movements, rising up in the air before landing elegantly on the two mechs. 

"Sleep tight, Soundwave." Starscream whispered, closing his optics again. 

"Sleep tight…my love." The first voice was Starscream's own, followed by Knock Out's voice again. Starscream smiled to himself and cuddled closer to his spark mate. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

::A Soul's Exit!::

His voice box crackled and sputtered as it was once again forced to speak through its modified method, and Bumblebee's throat burned as the words flew past his tongue like acid. 

Bumblebee could feel his world spinning around him, his body feeling all sorts of _wrong_ , he could feel his center of gravity shifting as he began to fall, his servos breaking the final connection with Bulkhead's mind. His hands glowed a little longer before becoming consumed by a strange numbness that was overtaking the rest of his body. 

This was another thing Bumblebee hated about mind melding was that the time period afterwards for him was arguably the worst part of the experience for both parties. He felt out of place in his own body for hours, numbness and stabbing pain in his mind his only constants. Even with Ratchet's healing, it would still take him hours to fully recover and feel like himself again. 

Bumblebee felt arms around his waist, and the person pulled them over to another medical berth. Whoever it was lifted him up and placed him gently down; Bumblebee distantly noted that the silver plating belonged to Smokescreen, who was looking down at him with concerned optics. He noticed Ratchet was beside him, and soon the pleasant feeling of being able to twitch his own digit fell over him, calming him down. 

"Wait, I'm sorry, what's a _Soul's Exit_?" June asked, watching as Ratchet and Smokescreen worked to calm Bumblebee down. "The soul can leave the body?" 

"In a way, yes," Ultra Magnus scooped all five Valerans into his servos and walked them the few paces to Bumblebee and the others, before placing them down closer to the action. "our souls are the source of our power, our essence, our subconscious, similar to yours in that sense. It's what will leave this world when we die, and join with Primus once more. However, sometimes the soul is not needed. So, it can leave through something called a Soul's Exit." 

"Nobody thought to mention this?" Fowler demanded, but his voice lacked its usual fire. 

"Never came up." Arcee said, one servo on Smokescreen's shoulder for comfort. "Never happened before now." 

"So, Bulkhead's soul left? Is that why he passed out?" Jack asked hesitantly. 

Optimus stepped forward. "It would stand to reason, yes." He looked up briefly to Ratchet, who was still harnessing as much power as he could before he looked away. "A soul can't leave whenever it wants. The soul attaches to something, most of the time _someone_ , and will leave the body when they find their precious memento in danger, or something has drastically changed." 

"So Bulk's soul found something to attach to?" Miko asked, stomping her foot in mock anger. "I'm a little offended it wasn't me." She looked back and glared at the large green mech, who was still unconscious. 

"We do not choose what our soul attaches to," Optimus said reassuringly, as Raf gripped onto her hand as a sign of comfort. Jack placed his hand on her shoulder as Miko nodded at them both gratefully. He glanced up at Ratchet. "Ratchet, is Bumblebee -" 

"He's fine, Optimus." Ratchet was still using a good amount of his power, his optics glowing a brighter shade of red the longer he used his power. He reached down with one servo and adjusted the height of the berth, Bumblebee now in a half laying down, half upright position. His optics were open and adjusting to the light, but Optimus could tell he wasn't seeing anything clearly just yet. 

Smokescreen materialized a chair for himself and sat down beside his spark mate, holding onto his servo tightly between both of his own. "Hey, Bee. Anyone home?" 

Bumblebee's optics offlined for a moment, before slowly flickering back online. ::Yeah, Smokes. I'm here::

"What'd ya see, kid?" Cliffjumper helped Raf cross over onto Bumblebee's berth so he could be closer to his best friend. "Do you remember?" 

Bumblebee nodded, lifting up one hand to touch the side of his helm. When it fell, he rested it on Ratchet's arm, a silent plea to stop the healing for a minute. The pain kept him grounded, helped remind him of what he saw. 

::I was on a ship. A small one, could only fit about two or three Bots:: 

"Bulk's soul bonded to a ship?" Fowler asked, crossing his arms. "Didn't know two-ton was into that kinda thing." 

Bumblebee shook his helm. ::It wasn't the _ship_ , it was who was _in_ the ship.:: Bumblebee paused. He muttered something under his breath. 

"What was that? Speak up, Bumblebee!" Ratchet demanded, his patience running thin. 

There was a long beat of silence as Bumblebee replayed the images in his mind, confirming it over and over until he was one hundred percent sure of what he had seen.

::Bulkhead's soul bonded to the mech of the prophecy.:: Bumblebee repeated, looking up at those around him. 

Dead silence settled through the medical bay, everyone too shocked to speak. Cliffjumper fell backwards onto a spare medical berth while Arcee stared in shock. The Valerans were too stunned to speak; they all knew what the mech meant for the Gods. 

"Ultra Magnus," Optimus's strong voice was the first noise to be heard. "contact Megatron immediently. Tell him that the other Gods need to come here immediently." 

Ultra Magnus nodded, turning and running out of the temple and towards the main temple where he could contact Megatron and the other Gods. 

Optimus turned back to the rest of the Gods, and suddenly, the silence snapped like a twig. 

"How do you know?" 

"There's no way, you can't be serious." 

"What powers did he have?" 

"Was he handsome? A good lookin' guy?" 

Everyone paused and glanced down at Miko. 

She sputtered, distressed from all the attention put on her. "What? Bulk would want me to ask the good stuff." 

Bumblebee whirred sadly. ::He was coming from the planet Cybertron, coming to Valeran. He'd already seen Bulkhead before when I met him. And he had the power of fire.:: Bumblebee added as he noticed everyone's skeptic glances. ::He showed me! Made little balls of fire on his palms. I'm telling you, that was the mech we've been waiting for:: 

Everyone still seemed skeptical. Arcee cast a glance over her shoulder towards Bulkhead, where the mech was still passed out. 

::He also had Bulkhead's name on his arm. A kind of imprint.:: 

"Imprint?" June asked, her mind starting to swim with all the new terminology she was learning in such a short period of time. 

"A way of claiming, when you imprint it is a way of marking your one true love for all to see." Ratchet lifted his arm and pulled up on his shoulder pad, where the name _Optimus Prime_ was clearly written. 

There was a beat of silence before Jack changed the subject. "Do you know where he was? If he was close?" 

"What about if he knew about the prophecy? Did he seem to think he was important?" 

::He was drinking spoiled high grade straight out of the bottle and driving a small ship. I doubt he knows how important he is:: Bumblebee retorted. 

Everyone groaned and Ratchet face palmed. "Good Primus almighty." 

"Did you get his name?" 

::No. He was about to say it but I got pulled out. Not your fault, Ratchet.:: Bumblebee sighed and Smokescreen squeezed his hand a little tighter in encouragement. 

There was another awkward beat of silence as everyone contemplated the situation before them. 

"Hey, you guys are missing the bright side of this story," Everyone turned down to look at Raf, who forced a smile to come to his face. "The mech of the prophecy is coming! This is good news! And Cybertron is closer than where the Titans were banished to, that means he should beat them here!" 

"That is true," Ratchet perked up. "The prophecy is finally coming to fruition. After all this time." 

Optimus smiled, but it was gone as quickly as it came. "We will need to take precautions. When Megatron and the others arrive we will discuss further. For now, we will watch over Bumblebee and Bulkhead, make sure they recover quickly. The Valerans will need extra protection, and border patrols will need to be upheld." 

Everyone nodded, and Smokescreen stole a glance back to Bulkhead, who was still lying still on his berth. 

"Figures Bulk is the one whose spirit attached itself to the mech," Everyone turned to look down at him. "Bulkhead always insists there's nothing special about him, that he's as ordinary as a God could get…and now, well. Look at him." 

It did bring a smile to Arcee's face at the slight irony behind Smokescreen's words; he did have a point. Bulkhead was far from ordinary, but for a God, he was as close as it got. He wasn't a brilliant strategist or a conversationalist, he wasn't a leader or exactly much of a looker. But he heart of gold, and if anyone deserved to find love, it was him. 

Ratchet broke her train of thought and began ushering everyone out of the temple. "Alright, everyone out. Bumblebee and Bulkhead need their space, after all. So get out, shew." 

The Gods and Valerans groaned reluctantly; the only ones who were allowed to stay were the five Valerans and Smokescreen. Optimus placed a kiss on Ratchet's forehead and Cliffjumper placed a servo on Bulkhead's shoulder in reassurance before he followed Arcee out of the bay. 

Bumblebee smiled up at Smokescreen as he placed a kiss on his cheek, before lowering the berth into a lower setting so Bumblebee could get some rest. Ratchet muttered a quick spell and Bumblebee was surrounded in a faint white glow, the spell numbing his sensors and making it easier to sleep. 

Miko's gaze was focused on Bulkhead, his sleeping form still and unmoving. "He will wake up, right?" She asked, trying not to let the desperation be heard in her tone. 

Ratchet looked up from his work, materializing a pair of protective glasses for June to wear as she watched. "Of course he will, Miko. It will take time and some healing spells, but he will wake up." 

Fowler placed an arm around the small child. "Bulkhead's too tough to be outta the game for too long. You'll see, he'll be back on his feet and doing your hair every morning in no time." 

"I noticed you got pink highlights, Miko. I wonder when you got those done." June said, looking briefly away from Ratchet's work to flash her a warm grin. "I've been trying to convince Jack to let Arcee dye his hair pink and blue to match her paint. He's been pretty stubborn." 

Jack groaned as everyone laughed around him. "That's because no teenage boy wants to match their giant God friend!" 

"Why not? I think it would be pretty cool!" Raf smiled, looking up at Bumblebee and Smokescreen. 

They fell into easy conversation, poking fun at Jack and other related topics, while Ratchet watched Bulkhead's vitals slowly rise, a sign he would indeed wake up soon. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Wheeljack woke again - for real this time - to the lurch of his ship coming to a complete stop. 

The compulsion systems deactivated and the Jackhammer froze in place, hovering where the engine had stalled. Wheeljack's body launched forward, and he barely had time to stop himself before his face smashed into the controls. 

"Good Primus…" Wheeljack muttered, pushing himself up with a deep inhale. He looked out the front of his ship, his optics widening. 

Through the front window of the Jackhammer, Wheeljack could see a massive planet, at least the size of Cybertron if not bigger. From here, Wheeljack could see the white swirls of clouds as well as the green and blue of the oceans and land below that. On either side of the planet there was a sun, moving slowly around the planet. Distantly, Wheeljack could see three moons, slowly moving farther away from the planet, signaling that it was getting later in the morning most likely. 

"How long was I out for?" Wheeljack wondered out loud as he reached forward to activate his comm link system. But just before his servo reached the button, he paused. 

Something churned inside of him; his spark did a little flip inside his chest at the prospect of stopping here, before this large planet. He couldn't quite place the feeling, but he felt stronger, as if he could take on the entirety of the Cybertronian Elite Guard and win. There was a new fire deep in his gut, but it felt so _natural_ there. 

Wheeljack reached away from the comm link, going to his directional compass. The computer read what he expected: he'd reached Valeran. 

Wheeljack shook the excess thoughts way from his mind and returned to activating the comm link system. "Hey, Kup?" 

There was a hiss of static before Kup's gruff voice filled the compartment of the Jackhammer. "I hear ya, Wheels. How goes your travels?"

"Pretty great, just arrived at Valeran; it's a beauty, Kup." Wheeljack broke off his sentence to chuckle a little. "I just slept through the entire journey, all five days." 

There was silence on the other end for a moment before Wheeljack heard Kup yelling at the people around him, something like 'track his coordinates!' or 'tell me where he is!' 

"Uh, Wheels," Kup said, his voice carrying a tone of concern Wheeljack wasn't used to hearing. "Ya can't be at Valeran, it's only been a day. I ain't sure what planet you're stopped at, but Valeran ain't it." 

Wheeljack paused, looking back up at the planet in front of him. He checked his computer again, refreshing the compass in case it had glitched. 

When it fully loaded it read the same exact phrase: _Arrived at Valeran_. 

"Kup, I'm not sure what to tell you, but-" Wheeljack's train of thought drifted as he remembered his dream. The green mech had touched his console, and he remembered lurching forward and the stars zooming past him twice as fast. The smile on the mech's face and not responding when Wheeljack had demanded to know what he had just done. 

He remembered the other mech, Bumblebee, as he spoke about powers and Primus and Cybertron and how Wheeljack was barely able to follow along, how he somehow knew his powers and seemed just a little too excited that Wheeljack was from Cybertron and on his way to Valeran. 

"I'll be a son of a glitch…" Wheeljack whispered to himself. "Was it even a dream…?" 

Kup's angry voice interrupted his thoughts and he turned back to face the front. 

"Kiddo, this can't be possible, ya only been travelin' for a _day_ ," Kup was saying, yelling at the mechs around him to get data reports. "Wheeljack, it says the engine surged wit' power six hours ago, what did you _do_?!" 

Wheeljack opened his mouth to respond before the Jackhammer gave a loud groan, and the ship was suddenly tilted downwards, moving quickly towards the planet below. 

"Oh scrap," Wheeljack cursed as alarms sounded around him. The cockpit began flashing red with warnings and Wheeljack strapped himself into the pilot's chair before he moved to try and steer the ship. 

"Kup, I'm bein' pulled in by the planet's gravitational pull," Wheeljack groaned as he tried to activate the engines and turn the ship around with no luck. The Jackhammer was falling and it was falling fast. "Scrap!" 

"Hey, yer gonna be fine kid, the Jackhammer will protect ya." Kup's voice was overly calm, but it wasn't comforting Wheeljack in the slightest. "You just have ta survive til' we can send out some men to get you Wheels." 

"How long's that gonna take?" Wheeljack demanded as he entered a level of clouds. Any second now the clouds would disappear around him and all Wheeljack would be able to see was the ground getting ever closer to him. 

"About three weeks, pal. None of the other ships were equipped with the compulsion system yours was. Ya hang tight kid, Impactor and Springer will be-" Kup's voice cut out as the Jackhammer's engine shut off, and the console went dark. 

"Kup! Kup! Answer me ya bucket of bolts!" Wheeljack looked back up through the window and he saw the clouds disappear, and all he could see now was the green, organic grass of the planet getting closer by the second. "Oh scrap!" 

When Wheeljack thought about death, he thought he would die of boredom in the lab, or listening to Percy and Jetfire debate which was the more serious offense: meeting the carrier and sire on the fifth date or never at all. 

He sometimes thought he would die of starvation; it'd happened once on a journey where the Jackhammer's engine had cut out and Wheeljack had been stuck for what must have been two weeks with no food or energon. He'd luckily been rescued mere days before he offlined.

He knew that when he died, he would be scared and terrified and hope that he would somehow be saved by Primus himself or literally _anyone_. 

But at this moment, as the Jackhammer was hurdling towards the earth, Wheeljack wasn't scared at all. 

His spark was calm, and still doing little flips in his chest. It pounded harder and harder in his chest, but not because he was moving towards the earth at a surprising speed, but because somehow, he knew he was going to be just fine. 

It stressed Wheeljack out _more_ that he was so calm, but the calmness overtook him, stopping him from panicking or crying out. The alarms blared around him, the steering wheel shifted and turned the engine sputtered, but Wheeljack didn't grab onto them. 

He reached up and deactivated the alarm, waiting for the earth to hit. 

The last thing Wheeljack saw was a clearing opening among the trees before the Jackhammer hit the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheeljack finally arrives to Valeran! Yaaaay! (I promise him and Bulkhead meet in person soon!) The plot thickens my dudes. And a little Soundstar since they are very underrated and deserve all the hugs in the world. Hope you all enjoyed, see you next week!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Back again :) 
> 
> I never thought that the worst character to write would be Silas of all people, but here we are. Not much to say about this one, but I hope you all are staying safe and enjoying the story so far! Thanks so much for reading :)

The Valerans who lived in the village had extensive territory; Fowler and the leaders who preceded him made sure of that. The territory started with the main village then to the plains for the livestock on one side of the village and the pond on the other. Their land extended to the hills behind the village where the temples were seated and it ended with the vast forest on the far end of the pond. 

The territory on the far side of the pond had once been theirs, but it fell into MECH's hands when Silas and the others had abandoned the Valeran Village to get away from the Gods. 

MECH had cut most ties with the Valerans when they had deserted, but they complied to the occasional meeting every other month just to make sure no wars broke out, despite the fact they were at each others' throats. MECH hated the Valerans just as much as they hated the Gods, and Fowler didn't like the threat that lingered over them at all times. 

The MECH stronghold was admittedly very high end considering most of their original supplies had been what they could steal in the night from the Valerans. The Valerans didn't have much technology to begin with, so MECH had been forced to bend their ideals and ask the Gods for their technology, under the guise they would use it for protection and advancements. 

They left with the new technology that very same night. 

They had satellites and defense systems built from scratch, as well as communication devices for each other and the Gods, should the need arise. Each member was equipped with several guns and other weaponry that could inflict damage even on the Gods if enough shots were fired.

The MECH base consisted of four large buildings: one building for the majority of troops, one building for the leader Silas to sleep, another building for the horses and livestock, and the last building was for any and all scientific work they conducted. 

In other words, the most important building. 

MECH stuck to a very strict schedule: rise before dawn and work until long after sunset. The satellites were monitored daily and border checks were conducted religiously; every hour on the hour. Meals were prepared weeks in advance so soldiers could grab their rations without much time required. Silas commanded his troops with an iron fist, barely showing any sort of praise or allowing them to stray from their mission. 

Silas was a cool and capricious dictator in the small community of MECH, but it worked for him and it worked for his men. 

Silas shifted his gaze from one computer to the other as he watched his men conduct the second safety check of the day, glyph and images popping up on the screen before being replaced by a new thing seconds later. 

"God activity continues to be unusually quiet, sir, as well as for the past three days. Power emissions down by twenty percent and they were only seen at their borders twice a day instead of the regular five times." One man, Kevin stated, looking back at Silas. "They had their meeting with Nova and Iclic, but that occurred on schedule with no major interruptions." 

Silas raised an eyebrow. This was most unusual, the Gods not straying far from their camp. "Did our cameras in their camp give us any insight to this?"

"In a way, sir. All eight Gods were seen entering the main temple for their nightly dinner three nights ago, only for one to be carried out and taken to the Healer God's temple a short time later." Kevin replied, turning back to his computer to bring an image up on the screen. Silas narrowed his eyes as he took in what the image was showing. 

The largest God, Optimus Prime, was carrying the large green mech in his arms; Bulkhead he was pretty sure his name was. The Earth God. He was limp in his leader's arm, and Silas watched the image change every few moments, showing the Gods running quickly towards the Healer God's temple. 

"Do we know what's wrong with him?" Silas asked, taking a step closer to his men. 

"No sir, we do not have any cameras in the temple areas save for the one next to the main temple." Kevin reported. "Nova and Iclic activity is quiet as well, sir. They have not contacted us in days." 

Silas nodded. That was a comfort however small that the Iclic remained secretive and to themselves. Less trouble for MECH to deal with. Silas and Crow notoriously did not get along, and he would be lying if he said he didn't miss the meetings where he had to lay eyes on that manipulative King. 

Something began to ding loudly and the room around him flashed yellow. Silas didn't flinch from his position; if anything his hands only tightened around each other from behind his back. "What is happening?" 

"Our satellite, sir," another man said, pressing a few buttons and the beeping stopped. All of the images on the screen changed to show a single image: a ship burning up as it entered the atmosphere. "a ship is entering Valeran's atmosphere." 

Silas was shocked for a moment, before the shock shifted into smugness. "After all this time, finally a newcomer." He smirked, holding out his hand. One of his henchmen placed his favorite gun into it, and strapped goggles to his face. 

The rest of his men geared up and Silas tightened his battle armor around him, the feeling of mad, hysterical excitement chilling him to the bone. "Let's bring this one back alive, boys." 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Jack sighed as he discarded his queen; the card wasn't of any use to him anyway. Miko gave him a look and muttered "That's not the card I wanted", before she passed it onto Raf, who rolled his eyes but took the card and the extra into his own hand. 

It had been a few hours now since Bumblebee had emerged from Bulkhead's mind. Since then, everyone found out that Bulkhead and the mech of the prophecy were destined to be together, and the Gods found out their whole lives were taking a turn for the better. The Gods had been running around like madmen, barely able to sit still for longer than a few minutes before they needed to do _something_ to occupy their time. 

The Gods from Tonin had arrived about two hours ago, only adding to both the excitement and confusion. Arrangements needed to be made for them to live and sleep, and they needed to be brought up to speed on all the details of the situation. 

Jack, Miko, Raf, Fowler, and June had been keeping Ratchet company as he monitored Bumblebee and Bulkhead's recovery, since Smokescreen had been called away to help get everyone settled. However, the Healer God had been called away as well when Cliffjumper, Breakdown, and Smokescreen injured themselves having a 'friendly' welcome brawl, and Bumblebee had gone with since he felt much better then. Fowler and June had been summoned once the meeting started, adamant that they be present. 

So the children were left to watch Bulkhead, which really wasn't as exciting as it sounded. 

They started playing cards to pass the time, but they had already played several games of Go Fish, Sherades, and now they were playing Royal Rummy, and despite being only a third of the way done with the game, Jack was losing horribly. 

It wasn't that Jack was _bad_ at Royal Rummy, it was just that Raf was a genius when it came to anything strategic and mathematics, and Miko was both very lucky and strangely good at this game. 

"I have my three Kings for my set, and a run of three, four, five, and six, please notice how there are _no_ jokers." Miko announced proudly as she laid down her cards in front of her. Raf nodded approvingly and set aside cards in his hand to play on her cards later, while Jack groaned inwardly. "And I discard an Ace to you, Raf." 

Raf smirked and picked up the card, and Jack slammed his head down on the table, utterly defeated. 

"I have a set of Aces, a run of five, and I can play on your Kings here, Miko." Raf proceeded to do just that, and Jack noticed how Raf had only one card left in his hand. "A Queen to discard and I'm out." 

Jack began counting his points while Miko sighed gratefully, since she had just gotten rid of most of her cards just before that. 

She turned her gaze to Bulkhead, and her smile fell from her face. Jack put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed a little, a sign of encouragement. 

"It's okay, Miko. You know Bulkhead will wake up soon." Jack said confidently, and Raf joined in. 

"Yeah! He's just taking his time. You know how intense the mind melding can be." 

Miko nodded, still unconvinced. "There are so many side effects, though. He could have amnesia, or can't use his powers, or can't wiggly his right pinky." 

As Miko began to list things, Jack could tell she _wanted_ to believe that Bulkhead would wake up, but in some cases after the mind melds, it took days for the other party to wake up and she did have a point about the whole 'side effects' thing. She had more than a right to be worried. 

"You really think Bulkhead would allow his _soulmate_ to arrive on the planet without him being awake? No way, he's gonna wake up soon." Raf said next, and Miko perked up a little at the mention of the whole soulmate topic. 

"What do you guys think he's like?" Miko asked, bringing her legs up so she was cross legged on her chair, and placed her elbows on either knee so her chin could rest on her hands. "I bet he's got a bit of an attitude on him." 

"An attitude? For Bulkhead?" 

"Opposites attract and whatever, and besides Bulk's got a thing for a fiery spirit." 

"Must be why he keeps you around," Jack joked, and got a punch in the arm for his efforts. "I'll bet he's tall, and I'll say black plating. But I still think he's gonna be a kind, charismatic guy." 

"I think he'll be quick on his feet, and really talented. Good with battle strategies." Raf said, adjusting his glasses. 

"You're both wrong. I think he's gonna be short, and let's say," Miko met Jack's gaze and smirked. "White plating, and let's say red and yellow stripes, like fire. And he's gonna be crude and crash but a really good fighter." 

Jack nodded and began collecting up the cards to start the next round. "You guys are on. Whoever's closest to what the mech looks like and acts, doesn't have to do chores for a week." 

"Sweet!"

"You're on!" 

The children's mini celebration was cut short from a groan coming from Bulkhead's direction. Miko dropped her cards and sprang up, while Jack and Raf followed quickly behind. They ran across the walkways the Gods had built for them, making their way towards Bulkhead's berth. 

The green God was sitting up now, clutching his helm and blinking his optics online. He looked groggy and Jack was worried he would pass out again, but Bulkhead stayed upright. 

"Bulk? Can you hear me?" Miko asked, reaching forward a little and placing a hand on Bulkhead's thigh. "Bulk?" 

"Huh?" Bulkhead dropped his hand and looked down in the kid's direction, and a small smile came to his face. "Hey there, kiddo. Hey Jack, hey Raf." 

"No amnesia!" Miko threw her hands up in the air and Jack scratched the back of his neck as his own mini sign of relief. Bulkhead chuckled. 

"Good to have you back, Bulkhead." Jack greeted, and Bulkhead smiled wider. 

"Good to be back. Do we know if Bumblebee's mind meld worked?" 

"Yeah, we do. The mech of the prophecy is on his way now." 

"Yup! And you're his -"

Jack placed a hand over Miko's mouth to get her to stop talking. Bulkhead gave him a confused look, but said nothing about it. Instead he said, "The mech of the prophecy is coming here? To Valeran?!" 

"Yeah, he's on his way now. The Gods from Tonin are already here. We're trying to get Airachnid and Shockwave, but they aren't ready to leave their planets yet." Raf explained as Bulkhead shakily stood from the berth. 

"Okay, okay, but wait, the prophecy mech is coming here? _Now_?!" Bulkhead demanded, his optics coming fully online as his voice rose in excitement. "This is great! This changes everything!" 

As Bulkhead began to pace back and forth, loudly proclaiming all about the greatness of the current events, the children turned to face each other. 

"We should tell him." Jack whispered. 

"I _tried_ , but _you_ stopped me!" Miko retaliated, crossing her arms and tapping her foot. 

"I know, I know, I just didn't want to get him overwhelmed." 

"Who wants to tell him?" 

All eyes turned to Miko, who groaned. "Fine, fine, whatever. Since y'all are too chicken to do it yourselves." 

The trio turned around as Miko loudly cleared her throat. "Um, Bulk! We got something to tell you…" 

Bulkhead turned, giving them his full attention. He knelt down so he was closer to eye level, his mouth open to tell them to continue. 

For the second time in the past ten minutes, the moment was interrupted. 

"Hey, kiddos! Is Bulkhead awake?" Breakdown loudly asked as he launched himself through the doorway of the medical bay. His expressions warped into a grin and he let out a booming laugh once he saw Bulkhead on his feet. "Ha, ha! There he is!" 

"Breakdown! What -" 

"No time to explain, just needed to make sure you were alright. Alive and kickin', duh." Breakdown awkwardly scratched the back of his helm. "I need the kids for a second." 

Bulkhead looked between Breakdown and the children, confusion written over every inch of his face. He clearly was not fully awake yet, and Breakdown running in and speaking in a weird voice was doing him no favors. 

"Whatever Breakdown, you don't have to ask," Bulkhead said, leaning backwards on the medical berth. He laid a hand over his optics and groaned, muttering something about the lights being too bright. 

Breakdown nodded and ran forward, scooping all three children into his arms before they could even say hello.

"The mech is here," Breakdown said in a whisper shouting tone. His optics were brighter than Jack had seen in a long time and it brought a smile to his own face. 

Miko, Jack, and Raf all exchanged an exciting look. Miko began shaking with excitement, while Raf looked like he could burst. Jack's smile was wide and hopeful. 

"The mech of the prophecy is here! We're finally gonna meet him!" Raf exclaimed. 

"I can't wait to be proven right!" Miko said next, crossing her arms with a smug look on her face. 

Jack, on the other hand rolled his eyes. "In your dreams, hot shot." 

Breakdown chuckled too and placed them back down on their spot. "We're going to get him now, Optimus told me to tell you guys to keep an eye on Bulk here until we get back. Can you do that?" 

Miko gave him a mock salute, and Raf joined in, eager to please. "Sir yes sir!" They exclaimed in unison, and Jack ruggedly saluted as well. 

Breakdown smiled wider and gave them a salute back, before he turned and ran out of the temple, giving a fading 'goodbye' to Bulkhead as he left. 

The kids all smiled at each other and sat back down at their card game, collecting the cards and shuffling them to start the next round. Bulkhead joined in on the game as well, forming his own cards that were large enough for him to hold. 

But none of them could really focus on the game anymore, they were too excited for the next few hours to speed by.

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Wheeljack groaned, every inch of his body radiating exhaustion and soreness. 

Wheeljack looked around, taking inventory of everything around him. He had landed in a field, tall green grass leading into a large forest on every side. It was vastly different than Cybertron, which was mostly filled with metal buildings or living metal beings. Above him, the sky was bright and clear, with two suns almost touching in the sky above him. He could hear the sounds of organic life forms singing and making noises all around him, but he couldn't spot any signs of life. 

Wheeljack shifted, trying to stand up before he realized he couldn't. Looking back, he noticed half his body was stuck underneath a large section of the Jackhammer, but Wheeljack himself was surprisingly void of any pain. 

Maybe it was the adrenaline coursing through his body, or maybe it had something to do with the powerful feeling he'd felt on his ship, but regardless, he didn't feel the pain he thought came with being half crushed by the rubble of one's ship. 

The Jackhammer was in numerous pieces around him, some still smoking or on fire. Wheeljack's optics landed on the destroyed console - or what was left of it - and he knew there was absolutely no way he could contact his friends now. 

Wheeljack ignored that piece of information for the moment as he reached back and pushed off the rubble with a surprising amount of ease. The rubble slid off almost weightlessly and landed with a thud beside him. Wheeljack slowly stood up before he took a look at himself. He barely had a new scratch on his plating, no dark bruises or stray wires sticking out of limbs. 

He was completely fine. 

Wheeljack looked up and around his surroundings, trying to find any signs of civilization or people he could use for shelter and transportation. When he saw nothing, he turned his attention back to the rubble of the Jackhammer. 

He definitely didn't have much to work with, but if he was lucky he might get enough pieces together to scrounge up a radio or something useful like that. He knelt down to begin the work process, the feeling of unease settling at the base of his gut. 

The only warning he got was a snapping of a twig and the sound of a trigger firing before a large, thick web like net was wrapping around his torso, trapping his arms against his back. 

"What the frag!" Wheeljack cried, trying to twist out of the wires, with no luck. 

There was the distant sound of another trigger, and a new net was wrapped around his legs in the blink of an optic, causing him to tumble and fall to the ground. He hit the soft grass in an awkward motion, his shoulder taking the brunt of it. 

He struggled a little and managed to flip himself onto his back, and despite his arms trapped under him, it was more comfortable than lying on his side. Wheeljack lifted up his chin from his chest and tried to get a good look at whoever had trapped him. 

His attackers were shorter than he expected. 

There was a group of small organics - Wheeljack had encountered organics before on one or two previous adventures, and neither of them had been particularly pleasant - all dressed in a strange sort of combat gear that looked more practical than comfortable. They were all armed to the hilt and most of them hid their faces with glasses and masks, but there was one, in the center of the charge, that only wore glasses. 

Wheeljack scoffed. "Do you greet all your guests like this? You're gonna kill the tourism this way." 

The man with the goggles didn't react, he merely handed his gun to one of his shoulders. He held up a hand and the other men stopped moving, frozen in place and waiting for orders. He reached up one hand and ever so slowly took the goggles off, revealing his scared face and cold stare. 

"We don't get many tourists around here," the man replied curtly. "you might be the first in dozens of years." 

Wheeljack raised an optic ridge, but said nothing. 

The man placed a hand on his chest. "I am Silas. I lead MECH, an elite organization of men committed to the complete understanding and termination of the enemy who invaded our planet." Silas gestured to his men, a sinister look in his eyes as he looked back to Wheeljack. He began to walk closer, before he knelt down by Wheeljack's face plate. Wheeljack attempted to pull away a little; he wasn't threatened by this man but the red beams from the guns were enough to make him a little squeamish. 

"We are quite literally men walking among Gods, if you will." Silas snickered, reaching out and running his hand along Wheeljack's finial. Wheeljack _really_ attempted to jerk away then, he hated people touching his finials and this slime ball fleshie was no exception. Silas did not attempt to reach farther forward, but he didn't rise to his feet. "Now, where do you come from?" 

Wheeljack snickered. "Your mother's house. Or maybe it was your girlfriend's house. That is, assuming that anyone could stand your ugly mug long enough to date you." 

Silas did stand then, his expression just as blank as it was before. He lifted a hand and gestured aimlessly at Wheeljack's form, the tiniest of smirks on the edge of his lip. 

Wheeljack watched as one of the men lifted his hand, a small remote in his tiny palm. He pushed a button on it, and instantly the wires surrounding Wheeljack's form ignited in bright sparks, sending shocks down his spine. 

Wheeljack let out a loud cry as his frame shook uncontrollably from the lightning shocks sent through his body. The smell of burning plating was an unpleasant one, and he could hear the sizzling of the wires as they sunk a little into his sides and front. He rolled over onto his left side before he flipped over his right, the earth scorched where he had once laid. 

Silas watched with an evil grin his optics, watching as the large mech withered under his foot. This may not have been a God, but it was as close as he'd gotten to getting said Gods under his feet, and he was relishing the opportunity. 

Wheeljack gasped as he felt the fire awaken inside of him, the sudden urge to _attack_ and _protect_ moving to the forefront of his mind. He could feel the burning in his gut and at the edges of his fingertips, trying to break out and set him free of the wires that held him down. 

Silas raised a hand and the tremors and lightning stopped, and the need to use his fire died along with it. 

Steam came off of Wheeljack's plating from the electricity, and he breathed heavily for a few moments, blinking his optics to adjust to his surroundings. 

Silas appeared in his vision, smirking down at him in a way that made Wheeljack wonder if he was going to cut him open right here in the middle of a field. 

"Now, are we going to play nice or are we going to continue to be stubborn?" Silas asked, the confidence in his voice both annoying and chilling. 

Wheeljack rolled his optics and sucked in one more breath. "Why'd you stop, sweet spark? It was just starting to feel good." Wheeljack wiggled an optic ridge and the speed at which Silas's amused look vanished from his face was enough for Wheeljack. 

Silas gestured for the man with the remote to step closer, and once he was withing arm's reach he grabbed the remote from him. Silas knelt down by Wheeljack's face, anger in his eyes. 

"Understand me when I say that I am a man who likes good results. And you have given me nothing to work with so far, so if you do not give me the answers I want, I will be forced to take them from you. Quite painfully. It is in your best interest to listen to me." Silas said coolly. 

Wheeljack met his gaze. His spark was pounding in his chest, because he could not tell if this man was bluffing or not. He'd dealt with nasty natives at planets before who'd threatened his life, but he'd ever been chained down and threatened to reveal where he came from with the threat of torture as the alternative. 

"Do your worst, fleshie." He seethed back, the fire in his gut appearing again without warning. 

Something changed in Silas's demeanor, because for a split second he looked _scared_. 

"You have powers as well?" Silas whispered, his voice gaining anger as he spoke. 

Wheeljack didn't drop his bluff then, opening his mouth to retort. 

"Silas!" 

A loud, booming voice came from behind Wheeljack, and he twisted himself so he could get a better look at who had interrupted his moment. He craned his neck awkwardly and one of his finials dug into the soft dirt beneath him, but that was the least of his worries. 

There was a group of six mecha charging over the hill, looking strikingly similar to Wheeljack in terms of build and make up, but he had never seen them before. 

_Wait_. 

He _had_ seen them before. 

There was one short black and yellow mech with the swirly optics, the door wings tight in the air behind him. The one from his most recent dream. 

He was standing beside a silver mech who was about his size, door wings equally taunt against his back. There was the tallest mech, with red and blue plating. He was standing beside a small blue femme, who looked so incredibly fierce Wheeljack was scared she was going to kill all of the fleshies without warning. She was beside a taller red mech with horns on the top of his head, a grin on his face. There were two large mechs to his left, one blue and gray and the other green and black. 

A feeling of disappointment settled in his gut, the need to _find_ and _hold_ and _be held_ suddenly at the front of his mind. It was like his spark was yearning for something - _someone_ \- that wasn't really there. He shook the thoughts away as Silas let out a chuckle. 

"Ah, Optimus Prime." Silas said, snapping his fingers. "I was wondering when you'd show to rescue this newcomer." 

There was a rustling behind Wheeljack, and once again he shifted himself to see just what was happening. 

In the trees on the edge of the clearing, a new battalion was rolling up. There was maybe twelve large forms that looked like makeshift Cybertronians, built of metal and alloys, stitched together and welded. Their optics were either burnt out husks or glowing a strange, eerie yellow, and Wheeljack grimaced as he saw there were more MECH agents in the chests of them, controlling the knock off robots with a few switches and controls. 

Beside the robots, there were a few more men preparing to operate a canon, and Wheeljack could hear it charging up even from where he was lying down. 

"Stand down, Silas." The red and blue mech demanded, his voice loud and powerful. Wheeljack himself was slightly deterred by the gruff tone of voice from the mech. "This mech has no quarrel with you, release him and let us take care of him." 

"Not in your lifetime, God. This mech has powers too, and since he's clearly so special to you, you have to fight for him. Or maybe his head, if you're lucky enough to get only that." 

Not even ten minutes on this Primus forsaken planet and Wheeljack was caught between two different teams of robots, both of which apparently wanted to bring him home. 

"I hate it here." Wheeljack muttered to himself, closing his optics for a moment and he wondered just _why_ he listened to the Ghost that told him to come to this stupid planet in the first planet. 

Note to self, never take advice from Ghosts ever again.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! 
> 
> I could barely find two seconds to write this chapter this week, with college stuff and one of my friends had to quarantine again which was not fun news to hear :( Hey, but that week's over, time for a better one! Anyway, enough about me
> 
> Hope you all had an amazing week and enjoy this chapter! A big thank you again to everyone who's been following along, it means so much to me.

It was pretty safe to say Wheeljack was pretty uncomfortable in his current situation. 

On one end there Silas and his group of fleshies shoved into robotic bodies and multiple canons aimed towards the opposing team, which was made up of living metal organisms much like Wheeljack himself. Most of their optics were glowing now and they drew themselves back into a guarding stance, some of their servos clenched and glowing with their own light. 

The tension was high out in this little field, the rubble of the Jackhammer still hot behind Wheeljack himself. He felt like a piece of meat, about to be fought over by two apex predators. 

"It's your choice, Optimus," Silas broke through the silence of the standstill. "Walk away and let us take him back to our base, or we kill him." 

"If it helps, I don't like either of those options." Wheeljack hollered from where he was still held down, and the rebuttal to his input was that blasted organic pressing the button on that damned control. Electricity shot through his systems more painfully than the last time, and the smell of rotting plating made him want to gag. 

"Do not harm him!" A booming voice came from Wheeljack's right, but he didn't recognize who was speaking. 

"Temper, temper," Silas hummed, and the electricity stopped. Once again, a few small puffs of smoke rose off of Wheeljack's plating, floating away into the air above him. He exhaled sharply - which hurt immensely - and worked his way into a sitting up position. "I'm almost tempted to let you keep him, I've never been one to be fond of a feisty attitude." 

Silas's stance shifted and he gained a gleam in his eye, an expression of gloating. "I'm sure the precious Tailgate could tell me all about my dislike for a feisty attitude."

"That's it!" It was a femme voice that said that, followed by a loud battle cry. 

"Arcee, wait!" 

" _Stand down_!" 

But the fight had already begun. 

Wheeljack turned his head just in time to see a small blue and pink femme leaping up into the air, hovering several feet off the ground. Above him, the sky was beginning to swirl a dark gray, the clouds thundering and jolting with lightning. 

The blue femme still remained where she was, and all optics were trained on her. 

Her optics were glowing fiercely bright, her servos clenched at her sides. The clouds began to swirl above her, beginning to sink lower and lower in the center like a tornado touching down until it was almost on top of her. A few flashes of lightning flashed near her, and thunder followed close behind. 

The femme let out a loud roar and clapped her hands over her head, and lightning suddenly shot down from the sky, crashing down towards the earth at a remarkable speed. 

The earth scorched where the lightning touched down, the thunder loud enough to shake the ground. It was doing the trick; Silas and his precious creations stumbled and swayed where they stood, and the canons jumped off the ground. Wheeljack let out a surprised yell as he bounced up and down on the ground as lightning struck the earth beneath him. 

The lightning paused for a moment, and Wheeljack turned his gaze upward in time to see the femme letting out a loud scream, before she began spinning in rapid succession; her helm tucked into her chest and her arms straight out beside her. 

The swirling ball gained speed the farther she fell, and soon she collided into one of the large robots, blue liquid and sparks flying from where her fist made contact with it. 

The man in the machine was quick to strike back, stepping away from where he had been hit and gaining his balance. He drew his arm back and clenched his fist, before driving it forward and hitting the femme in the stomach. Wheeljack couldn't help but flinch as the femme flew backwards, tumbling a few times before she gained her footing. Her optics were glowing in white fury, her mouth set in a deep scowl. 

As Wheeljack watched the femme get up and charge again, his optics traveled to the other areas of the fight. There was a group of two - the tall red mech, the short black and yellow - who were trying to get closer to the canons without being hit by the purple blasts. There was a second group - a bulky blue mech and a red mech with horns - helping the short femme fight the men in suits. 

Wheeljack flinched back as a bright, smiling face suddenly filled his vision. 

"Hi there!" The mech was yelling at him, the grin firmly planted on his face. "The name's Smokescreen! I'm the God of Speed and Courage; not that means anything to you right now." 

"Smokescreen!" Wheeljack looked up and saw the large blue mech standing in the way of the sunlight., his shoulder pads casting a strange shadow on Wheeljack's form. One of his servos was shifted into a blaster and he was facing out towards the battle, but Wheeljack could see the annoyed look on his face plates. "Stop talking and untie him!" 

"Right, sorry!" Smokescreen's optics glowed a bright white and his servos glowed a silver lining as he grabbed onto the cables surrounding Wheeljack. 

"Blasted MECH! I should have known they would have pulled something like this after we found their cameras on our territory." The blue mech hissed out as he watched the battle unfold. He looked down at Wheeljack, his gaze hard to read. Something flashed in his optics, an emotion Wheeljack sworn he had seen many times before it was gone. 

Wheeljack had never enjoyed full range of movement more than when the cables snapped and his legs and arms fell from where they had been held against his body. He sighed in relief, the sensation that came from relaxing a little enough to make him want to curl up and take a small recharge nap. 

He did a quick once-over of himself to see if there was any new damages, and he was upset to see there was. Some of his plating still carried the burn marks from the rope and he had a few open wounds, but nothing life threatening. 

A servo was thrust into his face - he was really getting sick of things filling his vision without his permission - before he could contemplate that nap or his escape plan. 

Wheeljack looked up at the owner - it was the silver one, Smokescreen - his optics still eager and glowing. 

He hesitated for a few moments before he accepted the outstretched hand. The mech barely showed any sign of effort as he helped haul Wheeljack to his feet, and when Wheeljack was being pulled he almost felt weightless. He coughed and quickly pulled his servo out of the silver mech's grasp. 

"Thanks, kid." 

"Kid? Buddy, I'm at _least_ a couple hundred years older than you -" 

"Blah, blah, blah. Look, I just need to get outta here." 

"I am afraid we cannot allow you to leave." 

Wheeljack looked up, one optic ridge raised in confusion. "I beg your pardon?" 

The blue mech straightened, his mouth set in a thin line. He was taller than Wheeljack by a few head lengths and he was definitely the stronger of the two - Wheeljack wasn't sure if he wanted to find out what this mech's power was - but Primus himself be damned if he was going to be backed into a corner by this guy. 

Wheeljack glared up at him, unflinching even as Smokescreen awkwardly stood between them. 

"What is your name, mecha?" 

"Wheeljack. Not that it means anythin' to ya."

"It does, actually. Since you will be coming back to our village, immediently." 

"That's rich. I'm not gonna be a pretty damsel in distress or be your prisoner." 

"It's for your _protection_." 

Wheeljack scoffed. "I'm sure it is. And I've been lobbing with the Fallen." 

The blue mech's optics widened then, as if something struck him as familiar, before his expression hardened again. 

"Look, it is in your best interest to come back with us, so we may protect you from MECH and others who seek to harm you." The mech insisted, his sentence pleading but his voice was demanding. 

Wheeljack stepped back. It alarmed him that this mech seemed to act like he knew him, but that was really the least of his worries at the moment. "Listen, _shoulder pads_ -" 

" _Ultra Magnus_." 

" _Shoulder pads_ ," Wheeljack continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I just need you to make me a ship, and I'll get out of yer way. I have no interest bein' here if I'm just a piece of meat to you guys." 

"You're not a piece of meat! You're actually very important!" Smokescreen yelled again, jumping fully in between Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus. His back was to the blue mech, and his optics were wide and pleading to Wheeljack. 

"Smokescreen, _stop it_ , now." Ultra Magnus barked. Wheeljack looked up at him for a moment before he glanced down at Smokescreen. 

"Why am I so important, kid?" Wheeljack demanded, and Smokescreen took a step back, clearly alarmed and knowing he messed up. " _Tell me_." 

"Smokescreen, do _not_." 

Smokescreen looked extremely conflicted, his mouth moving even though no sound came out. His door wings twitched on his back, as if they could sense the anger coming off of Ultra Magnus's plating. 

Suddenly, the smaller mech's optics narrowed and he took up a battle stance, his gaze directed at something behind Wheeljack. 

The white and green mech turned, and was greeted with several dozen missiles launching straight towards him. 

"Get behind me!" Ultra Magus demanded, and Wheeljack felt a few droplets of water fall against his back. 

Wheeljack grunted, concentrating on his powers, which he was surprised to notice were already awake inside of him. The familiar rush of his powers coming to life ignited in his spark, and he felt the itch like sensation of the fire crawling out of his plating, remaining on his servos like a gauntlet. 

Ultra Magnus turned and looked down at him, his expression changing from battle ready to shocked in a nano-second. He moved out of the way as Wheeljack stepped in front of him, and he didn't say anything as Wheeljack turned his attention to the sky. 

"Like I said," Wheeljack's adrenaline was at an all time high. "I ain't no damsel." 

He opened his servos and clapped them together in front of him, a large beam of fire shooting out of his fingertips. The fire wormed through the air like a fierce dragon, the flames flickering in the air as they shot forward towards their target. 

The red hot fire hit the bombs head on, and within moments, the sky was filled with explosions that shook the ground. Metal pieces from the bombs fell around Wheeljack's feet, but he didn't stop, 

"Holy scrap!" 

Wheeljack recognized that someone was speaking and there were several triumphant cheers coming from the people around him, but he ignored them in favor of continuing to release the fire out of his systems. 

The fire from the sky seemed to gain a mind of its own, and instead of vanishing into the air, it began swirling back towards Wheeljack and engulfing him in a bright orange cocoon. The fire was dancing on his plating but not burning him, he could feel the hotness and itchiness of it, but he had never felt more at home. 

Wheeljack hadn't even realized he was levitating until he looked down and saw the earth was a ways down beneath him, all eyes and optics trained on him in awe. 

_Destroy the pests_. A voice demanded. 

The voice was foreign and unfamiliar, a distorted and ugly sound in his mind. He'd never heard it before in his life, but for some reason it felt so natural beside his thoughts. 

Wheeljack obeyed. 

There was a sound of a distance screaming, a horrible warped sound that managed to chill Wheeljack to the core despite being surrounded by fire. He clenched his fists and closed his optics, the fire burning to the surface of his armor before it seemed to seep out of every pore. 

Wheeljack was confident he was giving off more heat than the sun at this point. 

Wheeljack jerked his fists outwards, and the flames followed. 

His flames were so bright they were almost white hot, falling towards the ground like meteors. 

The fire balls hit MECH's canons and machines spot on, and the explosions came seconds after. 

"Retreat!" 

"Fall back!" 

"Ultra Magnus! The fires!" 

Wheeljack once again could register that people were screaming, but he was so _tired_ now he couldn't focus on the white noise. 

The fire was fading around him, and he could feel the anger and hunger fading in his gut. He felt cold now, the lack of flames surrounding him more deafening than anything. The voice was silent, but he felt like a presence was missing from his mind now. 

"He's falling!" 

Darkness was sweeping at the edges of his vision and his entire body felt numb. He could faintly feel himself falling towards the ground, but he didn't even have the energy to react. 

"Bumblebee, save him!" 

Wheeljack felt a gust of wind stop his fall, but that was the last thing he could comprehend before the darkness overtook him. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"My darling, you know the moonlight doesn't help you think any better. We have talked about this before." 

Crow didn't turn to look over his shoulder at the sound of Airachnid's voice. He wondered if he ignored her that she would leave him alone, but past nights of similar conversation openers told him that she would not leave him alone. 

Crow was standing on the balcony of his castle, looking out at the village and the great world beyond. The moon was glowing overhead, the stars twinkling beside it. There were multiple lights lining the side of the roads in the village, and several lights on his own balcony, so Crow could easily see the last of his subjects retiring into their houses for the night. 

Crow sighed and dropped his arms, letting his palms rest on the cool stone of the railing. Behind him, the soft, almost delicate noise of Airachnid's bi-pedal feet on the side of his wall was almost soothing to him, a comfort ever so strange. 

Airachnid landed with a thud that shook the ground a little, but Crow didn't react. 

The King kept his gaze trained on the horizon, breathing in the cool night air. 

"What's on your mind, my dear King?" Airachnid asked, picking herself up and sitting down on the railing beside Crow. She turned her gaze out to try and see what Crow was looking at, but she gave up on that after a few seconds of attempting to look for some strange object or flying Predacon. "I see nothing out there of any interest." 

"I'm not looking for anything out there," Crow shrugged, tapping his fingers against the stone. "it's like you said. I'm thinking." 

"What about?" 

"Do you need to know or are you just being nosy again?" 

Airachnid chuckled. "Call it a healthy interest." 

Crow rolled his eyes and leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest again. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before he spoke. "Look, I know that you hate the Titans and all -" 

"Hate is a weak word. _Loathe_ with my entire being would be closer, but it is an anger one cannot quite put into words." 

" - But in all seriousness, why can't you just…mend your differences? You always tell Fowler to try and make amends with MECH, and for Dreadwing to move on from his brother's death, but yet you can't move on from the quarrel you had with the Titans." 

Airachnid scrunched up her face, a disgusted sneer written all over it. She didn't say anything for a moment, her servos clenching and opening at her sides. 

She opened her mouth before she immediently closed it again, then opened it again before she huffed and turned away from Crow, crossing her arms over her chassis and putting her fingertips on her forehead. Crow could hear her counting to ten in her native language, and her let her take her time. 

"I know the basics of the… _history_ …you share with the Titans. But are they really beyond reason?" Crow asked a little hesitantly. He normally wasn't afraid of Airachnid; he had grown to be very fond of her and her slightly sadistic presence, but at the moment he knew better than to push her. He knew she would respond negatively to his question, but the counting showed she was struggling to see straight in her anger, instead of subduing to her power. 

After a few moments, Airachnid sucked in a breath and exhaled sharply, turning back to Crow. She materialized a chair for herself beside him and sat down, crossing one leg over the other. 

She turned her gaze on a specific star in the distance, her optics blank but full of so much emotion at the same time. 

"We tried," She said slowly. "Right after we won the War and banished Unicron, we attempted to make peace with them. We had them captured and were prepared to live peacefully beside them." 

Crow waited as she paused. Her voice was changing to become less attached, the emotion was nearly gone from her voice. She did that sometimes. 

"But they refused. Their mindless husks could not comprehend peace between violence. All they wanted was revenge for Unicron's defeat. They did horrible, terrible things, before we banished them as well. They couldn't possess us, but they _could_ manipulate from their cells, get Gods to kill themselves or others by a few simple, well phrased sentences." 

Airachnid's emotion was void of all emotion. 

"They were starting to get close to Optimus, the tender soul he is, and Megatron, who wanted nothing more than to rip out a spark. So we sent them out. Far, far away, but not before they bound us together for eternity."

Crow looked up as he felt Airachnid's optics on him. "It is quite literally inside our sparks that we have to avoid them, my darling. It's not hard for us to hate them." 

Crow nodded, not wanting to comment any further. Airachnid gave him the answer he had been expecting, but it still made him wonder. 

"You want to see the Titans," Airachnid mused, the faintest of smirks on her lips. "you want to see if they really measure up to the rumors and stories. Well, if they could get a formerly kind femme to kill seven other Gods in cold blood, imagine what they could do to a little fleshie like yourself." 

Crow scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Then what do you say we find that mech of your little prophecy and make sure they never find a little fleshie like myself?" 

Airachnid didn't smile then, but her optics brightened. "Agreed. Now, it is far too late to be this angry, so it's about time we headed to bed, don't you think?" 

Crow did smile. "I would love nothing more." 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"Stop!" Obscurity barely noticed when one of her sisters halted suddenly, clutching her helm and curling up in a ball among the stars. " _Stop_!" 

Obscurity did stop then, confused by the anger and pain in her sister's voice. She recognized Null's form as she turned around, blackness tracing her movements, strikingly visible against the contrast of space around them. 

Crash and another brother Faus flew to her side, disgusted looks on their faces as they attempted to coerce her to speak. Null clutched her head a little tighter, her glowing optics closed. 

She let out a twisted scream and her body snapped into a straight line so quickly Obscurity pondered for a moment if she had snapped it or was possessed; a sick joke by one of her siblings. They always had a habit of attempting to tear each other apart more than the Gods did. 

Null let out another scream and Obscurity waited for her to finish. 

After a moment, Null relaxed, her optics opening and glowing a bright orange now. 

Obscurity raised an optic ridge. 

"His powers have been activated." Obscurity said simply, and Null nodded. There was a chorus of roars and cries of anguish from her brothers and sisters, and Obscurity rolled her optics. She raised a hand and the cries died down instantly, nothing more than the deafening silence of space as white noise. 

"This complicates things." Crash spoke. "It will be much more difficult to kill the Gods now that they have Primus's special one among them." 

"This changes _nothing_." Obscurity hissed out, narrowing her optics at her brother. "The Gods possess the same powers. This new Primus child is just an addition to their egos." 

There were murmurs of agreement and Obscurity turned to Null. "What did you see?" 

"The mech accessed his powers and used it to destroy a group of organic life forms and their technology. He passed out right after he used his powers." 

"Did he even fully access his powers?" 

Null hesitated a moment, recalling what she had seen. A few moments passed before she shook her head and Obscurity scoffed. 

"Precisely. We have nothing to fear." Obscurity turned and began to fly on, not waiting to see if anyone followed her. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

They had seen the fiery ball of a mech in the sky from the courtyards by the temples. After all, it was hard to miss the fact that the sky had ignited into a burning inferno. 

Knock Out stood beside Starscream, watching as the Predacons came closer and closer, their roars filling the sky. Knock Out clenched onto Starscream's servo as he saw Breakdown's large form off to the left, and Starscream said nothing about it. 

Dreadwing and Megatron stepped up beside the red God, their optics trained on the Predacons as well. Megatron's fists were clenched and when Knock Out cast him a quick glance, he looked as if he was about to jump up into the sky instead of wait for the others to land. 

Knock Out didn't really blame him; the tension was so thick in the air it was almost choking. 

_Did they find him_? 

The question stung on Knock Out's tongue, but he dared not say it out loud. 

Ratchet pushed his way past and grabbed Knock Out's arm as he moved by, a silent request to help him if there were any injuries. 

Arcee and Ultra Magnus landed first, Arcee's tiny clawed pedes touching the ground almost elegantly, where Ultra Magnus hit the ground without focusing on gentleness. They shifted back quickly, and Knock Out noticed Ultra Magnus looked eager for Optimus and the others to land. 

The blue God looked to Ratchet, who recognized he was being summoned and walked over to meet him halfway. Ultra Magnus leaned down and attempted to discretely whisper something into the God's audio receptor, but Knock Out heard him anyway. 

"He's the one." 

Ratchet responded just as discretely. "Then he cannot be put with Bulkhead. We'll place him in the main temple, I'll have Bumblebee and Smokescreen prepare a berth. Soundwave," The silent mech moved forward, barely making a sound as he moved across the grass. "ensure Bulkhead and the children don't come out of the medical bay. Bulkhead and the new mech should only be allowed to see each other in a controlled environment." 

Knock Out gave Ratchet a confused glare as Soundwave nodded once and turned away. "Why can't the big rig and the guy see each other right now?" 

Ratchet sighed, his gaze focused on his mate, who was flying closer by the second. "This new mech is Bulkhead's Soul's Exit." 

Knock Out was taken back, but he forced himself to keep his face and emotions in check.

"And you didn't mention it before right now?" Some of his anger slipped out into his voice. 

"There was never time. I expected Bulkhead to be out for much longer than he was. It might have something to do with this mech being here." Ratchet paused. "I'm sorry, that once again you were left out of the loop. But trust me when I tell you that you all would have been informed as soon as we could sit down, we just haven't had the opportunity." 

Knock Out huffed and tried to push down the feeling of annoyance that was settling in his gut. He supposed it was acceptable that this detail had been left unsaid, what with the Gods from Tonin just arriving and the new mech arriving hours after they did. And he supposed they were all together now, which meant everyone would be included in all of the updates and decisions from that moment on. 

Knock Out looked at Ratchet for a moment longer before he turned his gaze to the stars as well. "Do we know what will happen when Bulkhead and this new mech see each other?" 

"Not a clue." Ratchet replied honestly. 

"Which is why you're not letting them anywhere near each other." 

"Correct." 

They said nothing more as the rest of the Gods landed around them, roaring to each other before they shifted back into their regular forms. 

"Well?" Starscream demanded, never one for patience. "Was he really there? Or did he implode himself in the sky?" 

Optimus, who was still in his Predacon form, narrowed his optics and huffed out, causing smoke to come from his nostrils. The large red and blue Predacon shifted so everyone could see his back. He unfurled his wings to reveal Arcee, and the limp form of a new mech. 

The first thing Knock Out noticed was his finish was in _desperate_ need of buffing and polishing. He looked like he hadn't seen in the inside of a spa facility in eons. 

Knock Out noticed the fading burns second, and when he reached forward to check for a pulse, the mech's plating was hot to the touch. The God pulled his hand away quickly and shook off the burnt feeling, swearing under his breath. 

"Starscream," Knock Out said over his shoulder without turning around. His fellow God was quickly to his side, silent as he examined the new mech for himself. "cool him down." 

Starscream did as he was told, his optics glowing a bright blue as he activated his ice powers. Frost flew out of his fingertips and settled on the mech's plating, melting almost the instant it made contact with the white coloring. A few moments passed before the frost began to stick, and when Knock Out checked for a pulse again, he was much cooler. 

"I'll carry him." Ultra Magnus was suddenly pushing Knock Out out of the way, and neither Ratchet or Knock Out protested. Arcee jumped off of Optimus's back and the God shifted into his natural form, watching as Ultra Magnus flew over the hill and towards the main temple, while Bumblebee, Smokescreen, Knock Out, and Ratchet followed. 

Megatron approached Optimus and stood by his side, and Optimus didn't need to see his facial expression to determine what he was about to say. 

"I was beginning to think he would never really come." Megatron said plainly, his voice cracking on the last note. A sign of emotion that was rarely seen from the intense God. 

Optimus hummed his agreement. "Neither did I, old friend." 

"How fortunate that we were proved wrong today." Megatron replied, their gazes still trained ahead of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wheeljack sassing back Ultra Magnus is what I live for, so I had to add that in, and a little bit of the Titans, as a treat ;). Hope you all enjoyed, see you next week!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da! New week, new chapter. 
> 
> This week was a lot better for me than last week, and I had a lot more free time to write, thank goodness. My sport season also just ended, so now I got even more time to write for you guys. 
> 
> Thank you again to everyone who's been reading this, it means so much to me.

Raf had been given the task of being the scribe at all the meetings since he was a little boy, when he had been eager to learn how to read and write quickly, and to learn ancient Cybertronian whenever the Gods got really intense and reverted back to their native language. It had made him so happy to be included in every meeting and to document everything, so that years from that moment everyone could remember what happened in each and every meeting, thanks to him. 

He was still very happy to do it, unless everyone was talking too fast or arguing. 

Right now, it was both. 

All of the Gods were seated in the Main Temple, the meeting table set up in the center like it would be for a regular meeting. Ratchet was seated beside Wheeljack, who was still passed out and laying on a cot in the corner that had been materialized for him. The God of Healing and Protection was checking his vitals, and every few minutes he would mutter something under his breath and write something down on the data pad next to him. 

Fowler, June and the children were seated at their own spots, listening to the heated conversation take place. Fowler would try to add something every few moments, but he would usually get talked over. Raf wrote his additions into his narrative anyway. 

"He is insubordinate and showed high levels of disrespect to me on the battlefield." 

"Ah, is _that_ why you were so eager to carry him across the field and into this temple?" Knock Out sneered, and Ultra Magnus gave him a cold glance. 

Miko turned to Jack and Raf, nibbling on the chips Breakdown had made for her. "I love it when they fight. With any luck, Cliff will goad them into taking it outside, then we'll have some real entertainment!" 

"Miko, you know I have to write that down." Raf joked, fixing his glasses as he tried to pay attention to his friends and what was being said at the same time. 

Miko rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. "Make a note then how I took you outside by your hair and made your face black and blue." She and Raf both laughed it off, and Jack made a gesture that told them to focus back in on the meeting. 

"But did everyone see him? He burst out into a fiery cocoon and totally took out all of MECH's weapons! It'll take them weeks to get back into fighting shape!" Smokescreen added eagerly, getting up from his seat and mimicking what Wheeljack had done on the battlefield. A few chuckled as he tripped over himself and fell backwards, but the focus was quickly redirected. 

"What are we going to do with him? We can't let him run free, he could destroy anything he touches." Starscream remarked, crossing his arms. Soundwave was seated beside him, and he gave a small nod of agreement. He'd joined the meeting after Bulkhead had fallen into recharge, and he trusted that he could be alone for an hour tops. 

Besides, Ratchet had put up a quick barrier before he left, so there was no way anyone was getting in or out. 

"We can't exactly chain him up like some prisoner, either." Cliffjumper replied, kicking his feet up on the table as he materialized a glass of wine for himself out of thin air. Arcee snapped her fingers and he made one for her as well. "Come _on_ guys, this is the chosen one! The one we've been waiting for! We gotta stop acting like he's going to implode at any second, or fall apart." 

Optimus spoke up then. "Ratchet, how are his vitals?" 

"Like nothing I've ever seen, Optimus." Ratchet replied, standing up and walking over to the table where his seat was. He sat down and handed one data table to Optimus, and the other to Megatron. "His systems are already completely recovered from the electric shock given to him by that MECH device; his wounds are nearly all healed, save for a few gashes that should take me a few minutes to properly heal, and he showed virtually no damage from using his powers in such an extreme sense, likely for the first time. His cells are multiplying faster than even ours do, and each and every one of them is bursting with his power." 

"This is most interesting." Megatron mused, placing a hand under his chin and passing the data tablet to Starscream. "So he definitely is the one the prophecy spoke of." 

"I think that's the one thing we can agree on." Arcee piped up, and she wasn't exactly wrong. 

::I can confirm he's the one I saw in Bulkhead's Soul's Exit:: Bumblebee spoke up. ::Like Ultra Magnus and Ratchet said, he's rude and a little clueless and I don't think he's really ever tapped into his powers like that before, but it's definitely the same mech:: 

A small stretch of silence settled between everyone, only broken by the tiny noise of Miko chewing her chips. The emotions hung thick in the air, choking like a noose: excitement, fear, worry, relief, all rolled into one. Most had started to give up hope that he would ever come to Valeran, but now, he was here. 

"So," Megatron addressed everyone at the table. "what are we going to do with him?" 

"I mean the first thing he's desperately in need of is a good wax bath and a buffing. Breakdown and I volunteer for the cosmetic work." Knock Out spoke loudly, and Breakdown smiled in encouragement to his mate. 

"He will need some training to harness his powers." Dreadwing said next. "I can volunteer for that job." 

"I think it would be beneficial for us all to be there to assist him." Optimus agreed. "Both for him to feel more accustomed here, and for us to better understand his powers and what he can do." 

"One thing, actually." Cliffjumper spoke up. "I tried to tap into his powers, to mimic it, ya know. But I couldn't. I was blocked." 

There was a brief silence and Ratchet tapped his chin. 

"That is likely an additional gift from Primus." The God hypothesized. "Pompous bastard. Preventing you, or any of us from accessing his powers would only prove him to be the one Primus promised to send." 

Megatron placed the data pad down on the table surface and placed his elbows on either side of it, his chin resting on his digits. "I propose a system." He said smoothly. "Everyone, feel free to add in at any time. But everyone takes turns watching him, coaching him on his abilities." 

"We will need to remove Bulkhead from this rotation." Ratchet added, his servo coming to rest on Optimus's shoulder. "They cannot be together just yet; I'm not sure what will happen when they do." 

Knock Out spoke up again. "Like I said, Breakdown and I have first watch since he is unable to say no to our cosmetic assistance at this time."

Miko glanced over her shoulder and gave Raf a tug on his sleeve. "Uh, actually, I think -" 

"Don't fret, he'll look just _beautiful_ for you when we're done, Ultra Magnus." Knock Out added, his voice velvety as he batted his optics and clasped his servos dramatically for the blue God. 

"Raf, can you get their attention or something, because -" 

"Stop it Miko, I need to listen." Raf interrupted, frantically scribbiling as Ultra Magnus shifted himself in his seat. 

"For the last time, Knock Out, the only interest I carry towards him is that he is the one we have been waiting for." Ultra Magnus insisted. "Wheeljack does not wish to be something to be stared at or fought over, he has made that very clear." 

"Guys!" 

Everyone ignored Miko as Knock Out and Ultra Magnus continued their heated exchange. 

"Ultra Magnus, Knock Out, stand down." Optimus spoke up, rising from his chair. 

"Him first." Knock Out said, ignoring Breakdown's servo wrapping around his wrist.

" _Excuse me_ Can everyone _listen to me_!" 

Everyone turned to look at Miko, who was now standing on the table, her face red from yelling so loudly. She sucked in a deep breath and pointed to the cot behind her. 

"We _can't_ talk about whether or not Wheeljack is a piece of meat because he's _not here_!" 

Sure enough, as everyone followed Miko's pointed finger, their sparks dropped in their chest as they realized the cot was empty; the former occupant completely missing from the temple. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Shockwave didn't like to think out loud. Often times his neural net would be working faster than his voice box would keep up with, and he'd distract himself from his own work by speaking about it. So he kept his thoughts were they were meant to be: in his head. 

The lab that had been given to him on Nova was beautiful, possibly even better than his old one on Cybertron. It was at least twice the size and had everything he'd ever need, or ever wanted. Half of the things he'd made himself, and the other half had been provided to him by Nova, which was surprisingly far along in their technological advancements for being organics. 

When Shockwave had made the decision to desert - not _desert_ , try and find a habitable planet - he hadn't expected things to turn out as well as they did. He had been pleasantly surprised when the Novian people had accepted him without complaint, and allowed him to perform as many experiments as he wished, as long as they were ethical (he still performed slightly unethical experiments, but he kept it off the radar, since Beth _did_ scare him a little). 

The Novian people were very kind to him, respectful of his work and even offered to sit with him and offer company when he would lock himself in his lab for hours on end. He found also that he never even had to use his powers on them; all organics seemed a little too eager to express his emotions to him whenever they deemed fit. He didn't really mind, and sometimes, he appreciated the white noise of some of the village girls talking about their problems. 

Shockwave had become pleasantly attached to them (in a strictly professional and scientific way). But if anyone asked that, he would deny it. 

Shockwave lifted a beaker and swirled the liquid around, before placing it down in one of his cryo-inducers. He pressed a few buttons and allowed the concoction to swirl around at a fast pace, mixing the solution together further. 

He'd heard the door opening, and he recognized the tiny foot pattern. 

"Good afternoon Your Majesty." He greeted Beth, not even looking up. 

Beth smiled and walked up the stairs Shockwave had built for the organics who came to the laboratory, and waited until she was fully on the surface to respond. "It's 'good morning' already my dear Shockwave. Did you work through the night again?" 

"It was necessary to complete my project." 

Beth rolled her eyes and moved slightly forward so a small ray of sunshine peaked through the glass ceiling and onto her golden robes. "The only _necessary_ things for you to do is sleep and refuel, and yet you do little of that. Dare I need to call Dreadwing and Megatron on you again?" 

Shockwave did look up at the Queen then, his antenna twitching. Beth met his one eyed gaze evenly.

She'd tattled on him before, she'd do it again. 

Without looking away, Shockwave lifted a servo and materialized a cube for himself. A simple meal; he didn't like the fake burgers and salads all of the other Gods had come to enjoy. 

Beth gave a satisfied nod and turned her attention to the cryo-inducer. "What are we making today?" 

"The same as previously stated," Shockwave said, pressing a new button on the machine, causing the solution to come a slow stop. "I am attempting to defy the laws of creation." 

"Can you not create whatever you want, whenever you wish?" 

"Not a being with powers. Not another God." 

"And what use have you for another God?" 

"The Titans will not be expecting it; they know of the numbers and powers we currently have. To not attempt to create new life would be illogical." 

"What need have you for new powers when your beloved new mech has already arrived?" 

Shockwave looked up then, his antenna dropping against his helm in surprise. Beth read his emotion like a book. 

"They didn't tell you." 

"They did not." Shockwave looked down at his experiment, but he did not move further than that. "They requested my presence for a meeting, but they did not state what the meeting would entail. I suppose it was foolish of me not to attend, after hearing the circumstances." 

"You were creating life, Shockwave." Beth said softly, stepping closer and putting a hand on Shockwave's arm.

Shockwave glanced up at her, his antenna twitching gratefully. He opened his mind and allowed a small amount of joy to go through, and he projected the emotion onto the small Queen. Beth smiled as she felt the joy rising in her chest.

"Shockwave, enough. You do not need to use your artificial joy on me. I am already happy enough around you." Beth insisted, her hand sliding off of Shockwave's plating. 

Shockwave nodded once and followed her wishes, retracting the emotion and returning to his work. 

They stood in silence for a few minutes, Shockwave thinking in his head once again as he worked to correct his formula. He added and took out, and at one point he even scrapped the whole thing to start again. Beth waited in silence the whole time. 

It was maybe an hour later before Shockwave became satisfied with his work.

He grabbed his new solution and turned, moving towards the back where his newest experiment was being kept. Beth followed a few paces behind. 

"This is one of the unethical experiments you've been hiding, hasn't it?" Beth asked once she saw what Shockwave was walking towards. 

"You will find, that left unchecked, I will do as many unethical experiments as I see fit." Shockwave replied evenly, placing the solution into an energon infuser. 

The energon infuser quickly sucked up the new solution, before the liquid moved through a tube and entered a large cylinder. 

The cylinder was taller than Shockwave by several feet, and about twice his width as well. It was filled mostly by a light yellow liquid, but there was a large mass in the center. A sleeping form, his bio-lights still not online. 

This time it was Shockwave who read her like a book. 

"If all goes well, the new God will be ready within the stellar cycle." 

Beth said nothing, merely settling for staring in awe at Shockwave's latest creation. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"What about the canons?" 

"All taken out, sir. Our scouts were barely able to gather the remains of some scrap metal. The rest was burned away." 

A pause. 

"And the suits?" 

"Three were rendered completely out of commission, while two avoided the blast radius. One is being repaired now." 

"The suit from the God?" 

"That's the one being repaired, sir."

There was a short pause. 

"I want a status report on everything in ten minutes." 

There was a brief scribbling of pen on parchment and the solider muttered some quick departing words before the sound of receding footsteps was heard, leaving Silas alone. 

He wasted no time in drawing back his fist and striking the wall before him. He didn't stop there either. 

He turned and grabbed the small wooden desk and picked it up almost effortlessly and threw it across the room. It was incredibly satisfying to watch it shatter against the walls. The wooden legs splintered and snapped in half as they hit the floor, and the flat surface of the table collapsed, but was still partially held together. It almost looked like a trap MECH had laid out in the woods, the large, sharp splinters pointed up at the ceiling.

Silas moved onto the papers and the filing cabinets, ripping out the metal drawers and letting the pieces of parchment fly across the room. he felt a few scrape his cheek and neck and leave small marks, but he didn't care. His face was already scarred enough. It's not like he had to worry about messing up documents or tearing apart filing cabinets; he wasn't the one who would be putting them back together. 

Silas let out a roar of pure anger as he tried to tip the filing cabinet completely over, and the metal creaked and groaned under his weight. The cabinet had been bolted to the floor when they had first built their camp, most likely for this exact reason. 

They had been so close. MECH had been making significant progress for the first time in months, gaining ground in the Gods' territory, figuring out their skills and daily schedules. 

The loss of basically their _entire army_ was not what Silas had been hoping for when they went out to welcome the newcomer to Valeran. 

The image of the mecha floating in the sky, scorching hot flames literally _seeping_ out of him and destroying his fleet flashed through Silas's mind. 

It gave him the final rush of anger he needed; adjusting his grip and pushing harder he yanked the metal cabinet free from the screws on the floor and yelled loudly as the cabinet tipped before falling completely, landing with a satisfying _thud_ against the floor. 

Silas paused, breathing heavy as he realized briefly there was little left for him to destroy now. 

He slumped against the wall, his face falling into his hands. 

He wasn't defeated; MECH would never be defeated. But he was down. 

MECH struggled to keep up with the Gods before this new one arrived, it would be so much harder now to try and expel them from the planet or destroy them. 

Silas remembered little from his time at the table when the Gods had first arrived - he tried to forget what was irrelevant - but the God who could possess the ability of Fire was the one to be feared. 

The sound of his communication device beeping broke him from his aggressive trance. 

Silas noticed that the communicator had fallen off in his rage, laying a few feet in front of him. The small antenna was beeping red on the end, which meant one of his men was trying to get a hold of him. 

Silas shook of his anger and stood up, wiping the small traces of blood from his cheek as he crossed the room. He leaned down and picked up the communicator, and when he spoke his voice showed no trace of his previous actions. 

"This is Silas. What is the status update?" 

"Space truly is awful this time of year. Have you ever been out to the Milky Way, Silas?"

Silas's heart stopped as he realized this _was not one of his men on the other side_. It was a woman's voice, it carried a little bit of a velvety touch to it that Silas hadn't heard in a long time. 

Silas took a sharp deep breath in and exhaled just as sharply, determined to keep his cool as best he could. "Who am I speaking to?" 

There was a chuckle. "I do suppose it was rude of me not to introduce myself. My name is Obscurity. Does that ring a bell, fleshie?" 

"How did you gain access to this line?" Silas demanded, exiting the building he was in and marching over to where his men were sitting at their computers. He snapped at them and pointed to the communicator before he quietly put it down on the table. The men understood his message and plugged the device into their computers, quickly working to figure out who was talking to them. 

"You'll find I have access to a lot of things. The location of your base, perhaps. Or, even better, how horribly you were just defeated by that new God. Pitiful, really." There was another chuckle and Silas's blood boiled. "Don't bother trying to trace the line. You won't find us anyway. But we will find you." 

Silas sucked in a deep breath as his men awkwardly avoided their gazes. Sure enough, on their computers, their screen read _Origin Unavailable_ in bright orange letters. 

"What do you want?" Silas demanded, his fingers gripping onto the table in an attempt to keep his self control. 

"Ah, right to the point." The voice said. "I want to make you a deal." 

"And why would MECH be interested in making a deal with the likes of you? What do you have to offer us?" 

"Quite a lot, actually. Have you been informed of the Titans the Gods turned coward and ran from?" Obscurity said sweetly; it sounded strange with the contrast of the words she just said. 

Silas's heart stopped again as he realized just who he was speaking to. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that his men glanced at each other nervously, but said nothing. Silas gripped the table a little harder and looked back to the communicator. 

This was just the advantage he needed. 

"I have heard about you. A lot of interesting things, like your power and might." 

"Oh Silas, you really know how to compliment a lady. Now," Obscurity paused. "we want you to work with us to take down the Gods; be our eyes and ears to them until we can arrive to Valeran. We have an inside man already, but we need one from Valeran." 

"An inside man?" Silas echoed. "I am assuming you are not allowed to reveal your allies just yet?" 

Obscurity chuckled, but it sounded so foreign and wrong with her voice. "Of course not, but I'm sure you will meet soon enough. Back to the deal; you work with us, do your part and serve us, and when we defeat the Gods forever, you will regain control of the village you once lived in. Simple as that." 

Silas tapped the table with one finger. "I want more. We need upgrades to our equipment, make them untouchable by the Gods and their powers." 

"You think like a true leader, Silas I applaud you. It will be done as soon as we get there. Anything else?" 

Silas shook his head, a smirk playing on his lips. "Nothing immediently comes to mind," He answered. 

"Very well, Silas. I eagerly await our meeting. Over and out." 

The communicator gave a small beep to show the call had ended.

A few moments after the beep, the communicator sputtered before a small _boom_ came from it, and smoke began leaking from the cracks. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

_Find him. Find him. Find him_. 

_Just over the hill. In the temple. The basement_. 

_Alone. He's alone. He needs you_. 

_Find him. Find him. Find him_.

Wheeljack was moving on autopilot across the fields, the strange voice in his head growing louder the more steps he took forward. A pleasant feeling filled up his spark the closer he moved to the target the voice wanted him to reach, a clouded sense of calming warping his senses. 

He crossed over one hill and began his downward descent on the other side, his weight carrying him forward even faster. 

He felt like he was walking on air through a thick fog, trying and failing to get a full grip on his surroundings. 

Wheeljack was in unfamiliar territory, and he briefly noticed that he wasn't taking the proper time to look around and analyze where he was; find an escape route. The voice in his head was taking up all his thought process, and right now he didn't have the energy to focus on two things at once. 

Wheeljack wasn't sure he really had a choice. 

He followed the voice silently, his vision hazy and his gut rolling as he took shaky steps forward. 

The voice led him to a temple to the right of the one he had stumbled out of; tall with tan bricks just like the others, but there were beautiful flowers that were unique to only this temple on the bottom. Wheeljack looked up and saw two statues on the top, one looking familiar to one of the Gods from the field he'd landed in. They looked like they were holding something in their hands, but Wheeljack couldn't see it from his spot on the ground. 

_Find him. Find him. Find him_. 

The voice was persistent, Wheeljack gave it that. It was beginning to become so loud Wheeljack could barely see, he was getting around mostly by reaching out his hands to attempt to stop himself from walking into a wall as he took shaky stumbles forward. 

The feeling of soft grass was replaced by hard stone beneath his pedes, and Wheeljack nearly tripped onto his face plate before he realized he was walking up stairs. The voice demanded he moved on, a few other whispers filtering into his mind. 

Wheeljack made his way up the stairs of the temple, walking through the entry way into the main area of the temple. 

The voice relented for a moment, quieting down enough for Wheeljack to think clearly. He looked around the temple, noticing the large bed against the wall and the same decorative pieces around it. It was empty, but cozy at the same time. 

It felt like home. 

The inside of the temple reminded Wheeljack of the museums on Cybertron, what with the ancient writing and pictures. Wheeljack stared in awe as he realized the pictures on the wall were moving, going through the same few actions before repeating the process. He reached out a servo and placed it against the painting, smiling a little as it shifted under his digits. 

The voice resumed at its max volume, and Wheeljack grabbed his audio receptors in surprise, bending a little at the middle as he screwed his optics shut. 

_Downstairs. He is downstairs_. 

_Find him, find him find him_! 

"For Pit's sake," Wheeljack forced out through his teeth. "shut up already, I'm goin'." 

Him talking to The Voice did nothing to help it, but Wheeljack pretended in that moment that it had. 

Wheeljack looked around for a way to get to the basement of this place, and relief settled in his spark as he noticed a doorway to his right, presumably which would lead to the basement. 

Wheeljack made his way across the temple, his steps still shaky and vision distorted. 

He placed his servos on either side of the door way, looking down the staircase into the dark basement. He could see about halfway down, and there were unlit torches that had been put out recently. 

Wheeljack closed his optics and concentrated, sticking out one servo to ignite said flame. 

There was a small whooshing sound and the fire on all the torches lit themselves, illuminating the stairway. 

Wheeljack smirked to himself and began to make his way down the stairs. He was careful moving down each step, his servos still pressed against the wall. 

The Voice was growing louder, Wheeljack could count at least five different entities speaking to him at the same time, all proclaiming the same thing: _He's here, he's here_! 

Wheeljack cursed as he missed a stair and tumbled down the last three, falling onto his aft and sliding through the doorway to the basement. 

The moment he passed through the threshold at the base of the stairs, the voice stopped. 

Wheeljack was thrown off by the lack of white noise; there had been the constant chatter of the voice since he'd opened his optics, and now that it was gone he wasn't exactly sure what to do. He looked around, appreciative of the fires that remained lit across the room. 

He was clearly in some kind of medical bay; there were multiple berths and the room had a sterile smell to it; Wheeljack had learned to hate that smell as a youngling. There were multiple small walkways stretching from wall to wall, much too small for any of the mecha Wheeljack had seen, so he could only assume they were for organics. 

Wheeljack shuddered as he recalled his less than pleasant experience with the organics on this planet thus far. 

Wheeljack's attention fell to the farthest medical berth tucked against the wall, a large red force field protecting the occupant of the berth. The low hum was almost calming, but that wasn't what drew Wheeljack to the berth. 

He knew this mech. 

The closer he got, the clearer the memories became in his mind. 

In the alley before meeting Impactor and the others for drinks, in his ship on the flight here. The green plating was so familiar even against the red hue of the force field. The mech's optics were closed in slumber, the only sign of life was the occasional rise and fall of his chest as he took a breath every now and then. 

Before Wheeljack had even noticed he had walked across the room, he was standing beside the green mech, looking down at him through the shield. 

If Wheeljack had thought his Ghost was hot, it was _nothing_ compared to the real thing. The mech was _handsome_ in every sense of the word. 

Wheeljack raised a hand and moved it closer to the force field, the fiery glow of his powers warming his hand just a little. He hadn't realized he had activated his powers, but it just felt so natural at this moment he didn't second guess it. 

His servo made contact with the red of the shield, and there was a few seconds of cackling as the two forces battled against each other before the shield dropped all together, a few red specs floating in the air before disappearing completely. 

Wheeljack's hand fell through and his body followed the motion; he'd been putting more weight than he realized onto his hand. His servo pressed against the green chest of the mech, and he knew that his servo didn't cause the sparks this time. Small flecks of electricity flickered between his palm and the chest of the mech, but Wheeljack couldn't back away. 

The green mech's optics snapped open, his lip plates opening in a small gasp. 

Wheeljack still didn't pull away as the green mech met his gaze, their optics locking in an intense way that Wheeljack couldn't put into words. 

The two of them said nothing as the mech sat up, their gazes still locked and Wheeljack's servo pressed against the mech's chest. 

"It's you…" The mech's voice was a little raspy; Wheeljack realized that he could have been in recharge for a while now, but it still sent a shiver down his spine as he tried not to picture the raspy voice being used in other situations. 

Wheeljack inhaled sharply as he felt a strong arm wrap around his back, pulling them closer together. He said nothing as the mech scooped him into his lap with little more than the use of one arm (again, Wheeljack tried no to think of all the other times this impressive strength would come in handy). He exhaled softly as he settled himself in the larger mech's lap, both his servos pressed against his chest now. 

"It's me," Wheeljack replied a little breathlessly. He cursed himself for not coming up with something better, but his brain was functioning at half speed at the moment, too laser focused on the now than his flirting game. 

"Name's Bulkhead." 

Oh, he he liked that. 

"I know." Wheeljack lifted up his arm and showed off the messy name that was torn apart by a gash he hadn't seen until this moment. "You told me a while ago." 

Bulkhead gently touched Wheeljack's arm with both his servos, his larger fingers moving across the open gash of the wound on Wheeljack's arm. 

"You were the one who stalked me in my ship and the alley." Wheeljack murmured. 

Bulkhead laughed, his optics closing a brief moment in his laughter. His chest bounced a little with the chuckle, Wheeljack's servos never wavering on the plating. The sound warm and pleasant and a warm feeling settled in Wheeljack's gut. 

_Scrap_. 

"Can you blame me? Tryin' to see you?" 

Wheeljack shook his head. "I am quite the looker, I know." 

Bulkhead said nothing in response, moving one servo to the back of Wheeljack's helm and the other to his lower back. Wheeljack's spark fluttered in his chest and he felt his optics fluttering closed. 

_Kiss him! Kiss him! Make him yours_! 

Wheeljack, for once, did not mind the presence of The Voice in his mind. 

In fact he relished it. 

He leaned forward, his optics closing completely as he knew Bulkhead was leaning in as well. Their lips brushed against each other, even the faint touch of the mech beneath his fingertips enough to send Wheeljack into a frenzy. 

" _No_!" 

Wheeljack yelled in shock as he body was thrown backwards, and he barely had any time to react before his back hit the wall _hard_ , one of his winglets folding at a terrible angle beneath him. His helm slammed against the wall before he slumped to the floor. A quiet hum filled his audio receptors, and when he managed to force his optics open Wheeljack noticed _he_ was now the one under a red force field. 

The God of Healing and Protection extended his own powers, forming a red shield around Wheeljack and a separate one around Bulkhead. Optimus lowered his servos, then let them rise up slowly, palms out so Wheeljack could see he wasn't going to hurt him. Wheeljack said nothing, mostly because he was still in shock of being thrown against a wall.

Optimus nodded once as he saw Wheeljack was making no attempts to break free, and he turned his attention to his fellow God. 

"Bulkhead, listen to me, please -" Optimus tried to say, his voice calm as Ratchet turned to Wheeljack. The white mech backed up as much as he could, wary of the mech who had just trapped in him in this shield. 

"It's okay, Bulk! Everything's alright!" Miko shouted from where Ratchet had placed her on the walkway, trying to get Bulkhead's attention. The God was laser focused on Ratchet trying to talk to Wheeljack, his protective instincts flaring as he realized Wheeljack was in distress. 

Bulkhead's optics lit up in a bright color, his entire body rippling with his power. The ground shook and shook a lot; Optimus had to work to steady himself and Ratchet noticed his shield was flickering as the ground beneath it shifted. Bulkhead let out a mad yell and began pounding on the shield, switching between his own fists and blasts of rock as he tried to break free and get to Wheeljack. 

Miko let out a surprised yell; she had never seen Bulkhead this angry before. 

No one had. 

Everyone jumped as a second yelling filled the medical bay, and it was quickly determined to be Wheeljack. The Cybertronian's optics were narrowed, and if Miko looked a little harder she swore to himself that his blue optics were glowing. Wheeljack began pounding on the shield just like Bulkhead was, small sparks bouncing off of his servos were they landed against the force field. 

"Enough!" Optimus commanded, his servo emitting a bright light towards Wheeljack and Bulkhead's force fields. The light whitened out the entire medical bay, lasting a few seconds before the light was extinguished.

When Miko opened her optics again, the shields around Bulkhead and Wheeljack were gone, and the two mechs were slumped on the floor. 

Ratchet was by Bulkhead's side in a moment, talking to him calmly as the mech let out a groan and rubbed his helm. Optimus walked carefully over to Wheeljack and knelled down beside him. 

"He has lost consciousness, Ratchet." Optimus informed his husband, and Ratchet nodded absently as he focused his attention to Bulkhead. 

"Bulkhead, can you hear me?" Ratchet asked as Bulkhead forced his optics open. 

The green God groaned again, blinking his optics to adjust to the bright light of the medical bay. His gaze traveled from Optimus to Miko before they finally landed on Wheeljack. 

"Bulkhead?" Ratchet asked again, a little less gently this time. "Can you -"

"I need to go," Bulkhead sputtered out, stumbling to his feet. "I need to, I need…" 

"Bulkhead, sit down, I need to conduct a small exam, please -" Ratchet tried to reason but Bulkhead ripped his wrist out of the medic's grip, his optics narrowed. 

"I'm going." Bulkhead said, and he did just that. He didn't look at Wheeljack, but Miko could see him hesitate before he turned to leave. He ran up the stairs and the sound of his fading footsteps could be heard before a loud roar of a Predacon followed. 

Ratchet sighed and looked up at Optimus. "He needs time," Optimus said calmly, and Ratchet rolled his optics. "he's confused and scared, and you cannot blame him for that." 

Ratchet scowled and cast a glance to Miko, who was still trembling and scared. "Miko, I will need your help performing a medical exam on Wheeljack; care to help?" 

Miko said nothing at first, but after a moment she shook her head and snapped back to reality. "Sure! Thanks, Doc." She said a little too happily. 

Optimus leaned down and picked her up in his servo. "Bulkhead will be fine, Miko. He is a strong and capable warrior. He will return soon." Miko nodded thankfully as Optimus placed her on Ratchet's shoulder. 

"Uh, Optimus?" The red God turned to look at Smokescreen, who was standing in the doorway to the medical bay with Megatron and Dreadwing beside him. "Do you want us to go and find him?" 

Optimus nodded. "Give him some time before you send a search party. And make sure Breakdown and Arcee are on it, there are most likely to get through to him should they find him." 

Smokescreen nodded and cast one last glance to Ratchet and Miko before he walked back up the stairs to the main level of the temples.

Optimus turned back to his husband. "Do you have the situation covered, honey?" 

Ratchet scoffed, but it was light with humor. "Getting Bulkhead to submit to medical examinations is like trying to convince a Titan to join our cause, but I don't think I'll have a problem with getting Wheeljack to have a quick medical exam." Ratchet looked up and met Optimus's gaze. "I'll be fine, Optimus, thank you. I will call if I need you." 

Optimus smiled and nodded solemnly, before he moved up the stairs to join the rest of the Gods in finding Bulkhead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told y'all they would meet soon! Hehe they are in for a bumpy ride ;) 
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed, see you next week!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woot! Here we go!!
> 
> I don't think I've hated anything more than I hate college apps. The process is too frickin lengthy and I would literally rather be doing anything else. Like anything. 
> 
> On the bright side, it was Halloween yesterday! Hope you guys had a lot of fun while staying safe and healthy. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!!

"The Titans are coming for us, dear brother." Dreadwing murmured, his optics closed as he spoke. He hated how he had to do this in secret. He hated that something as important as this be swept to the side and deemed irrelevant. "I'm not sure how much time we truly have, before we are swept into endless bloodshed and sleepless nights." 

Dreadwing was a God, through and through. He had been forged by Primus for the sole purpose of fighting off Unicron, and his Titan children when the situation had called for it. He was powerful and skillful in battle, with the utmost loyalty to Megatron, Optimus and his fellow brothers and sisters of Primus. 

But when Primus had created Dreadwing, he had accidentally split his spark in two, but instead of killing him, it created a copy of him, a twin if you will. Skyquake and Dreadwing had been forged together, and they fought together. 

Dreadwing moved up quickly through the ranks after the War started; Megatron had taken a liking to him for his loyalty and hard work ethic. He became the leader of an armada of his own, doing his best to eliminate the threat of utter destruction. 

But then Skyquake had been killed. He'd been seperated from Dreadwing, posted to a far side of Cybertron to protect a deposit of God energon with Bumblebee as a partner. He'd been caught off guard by the Titan leader, Obscurity and one of her annoying little sisters. 

Skyquake had told Bumblebee to leave with the energon; they _needed_ the fuel at this point in the fight so desperately Skyquake was willing to sacrifice his life for it. Bumblebee had tried to stay, but Skyquake insisted and the younger God managed to escape with the energon.

Obscurity and the others had swarmed in on his position moments after Bumblebee slipped away. 

Skyquake hadn't stood a chance. 

The Gods managed to defeat the Titans a few solar cycles later, and Dreadwing tried to not imagine what would have become of his twin had he survived that fateful day. 

Dreadwing hadn't expected them both to survive this War - the fact that he was still alive was a miracle - but he had begun to wish and pray to Primus that both he and his beloved twin would make it out of this alive. 

Dreadwing had always figured it had been some sort of price to pay; they had won - even if only temporarily - by banishing the Titans far away and escaping Cybertron, and perhaps it was at the cost of his twin's life, perhaps it wasn't. It wasn't like Primus had ever answered Dreadwing's pleas anyway, he couldn't know for sure. 

When the Gods had arrived to Tonin, Dreadwing had made a small grave site for his brother, burying his God insignia that he had managed to recover. He had taken all his little artifacts with him when all the Gods reunited on Valeran, and created a new grave for his brother. 

The grave was hidden away in a far corner of the camp, Skyquake's initials carved into the mountain. Every morning Dreadwing came out to talk to his deceased twin and created fresh organic flowers for him. 

Dreadwing lifted his servo and twirled his digit around, and large Sunflowers sprung up beside the small mound of dirt. Some of the flowers opened up to the sunlight, while others looked they would need some more time before they bloomed. 

"The prophecy we received from Primus might be coming to fruition." Dreadwing said next. "I do not know what that means for us, but everyone is convinced if he help Wheeljack obtain his powers than we will have no further worries." Dreadwing sighed. "Easier said than done; I believe him to be more stubborn than you were." 

Dreadwing smiled for a brief moment as another Sunflower opened, turning slightly to face the bright sun above it. 

"I will stay and fight for the cause for you, brother. But I do not know if even that is enough to keep me alive." Dreadwing admitted, turning to walk away. "I think we both know you would have been strong enough to fight, regardless of the circumstances." 

Dreadwing tended to become very absorbed when speaking to his brother, so he often didn't notice if someone creeping up on him a little.

So therefore he was not prepared to walk straight into Ultra Magnus's chest plate. 

Dreadwing stumbled backwards a little, caught completely off guard by the taller God appearing before him. He felt strong servos wrap around his upper arms, helping to stabilize him. 

"I am sorry, I did not realize you were there," Dreadwing apologized quickly once he had regained his posture. Ultra Magnus huffed and awkwardly coughed before removing his servos from Dreadwing's arms. 

"All is forgiven, Dreadwing, no worries." Ultra Magnus replied, offering a small nod to emphasize his point. The blue God looked past Dreadwing and coughed again as he saw Skyquake's gravestone. "Oh, I uh…" Ultra Magnus's voice faded and he awkwardly avoided his gaze. 

"I should be the one apologizing, I did not realize this is where you set up your brother's grave." Ultra Magnus said once he'd recovered from the shock and awkwardness that hung in the air like a fog. 

Dreadwing's mouth set in a thin line, but he wasn't angry. "I did not tell anyone, therefore you could not have known. All is forgiven."

"Clearly you did not want people to discover it anyway, so I apologize. You have my word I will not tell anyone about this." 

Dreadwing's optics sparkled with gratefulness as he glanced back at Skyquake's grave again. "No, I did not." He agreed silently, as if he hadn't meant to speak at all. 

There was a moment of silence before it was broken again. "He was an amazing fighter, I admired his bravery and battle expertise. It was an honor to fight beside him." 

"Please, speak no more to me of my twin." Dreadwing pleaded, looking up at Ultra Magnus. The light blue God gave a nod, and Dreadwing felt his spark relax as he exhaled slowly. 

Ultra Magnus offered a small smile and gestured back to the temple area. "Were you on your way back?" 

"Yes, just about." 

The two Gods fell into an even pace, walking back towards the temples, small talk flowing easily between them. 

"Have you had any luck on finding Bulkhead?" 

"None whatsoever. He has completely disappeared. Not even Miko knows where he is." 

"Does she have any idea?" 

"A few, but so far her help hasn't yielded any promising results." 

"Still, she's doing her best." 

Ultra Magnus nodded, a small smile coming to his face. When they had first arrived at Valeran, it had been Ultra Magnus who had been wary of the small Valerans, saying they were too small and could be easily stepped on. It took him a long time to warm up to the idea of their help, but right now, he was extremely thankful for it. 

Dreadwing continued. "Regardless, some people do not want to be found. And you can not blame him, the situation is definitely strange to say the least." 

Ultra Magnus sighed and nodded, but commented nothing further on the matter. 

Dreadwing cocked an optic ridge at Ultra Magnus's silence. "Have you spoken to Wheeljack?" 

"He has remained unconscious since Bulkhead disappeared, there is nothing to talk to him about. Besides, the moment he wakes up he will be attacked at all sides with questions from Ratchet about his health and Optimus and Megatron about where he comes from and his powers. He will not appreciate my attempts at conversation." 

"How do you not know if you never try?" 

Ultra Magnus grunted. "I am not the best with casual conversation. I tend to put a business spin on all by topics. Makes everyone bored, as Cliffjumper loves to remind me." 

Dreadwing shrugged, trying to ignore the way his wing brushed against Ultra Magnus's plating. He glanced up and noticed Ultra Magnus's face plates were heating up. "Maybe what he requires is a little boring. Primus knows he has had enough excitement to last a long time." 

"Regardless, he is not even awake now. I will not worry myself with the possibilities until he has awoken." 

Dreadwing allowed a tiny smirk to come to his face. "It is like what Knock Out said, you _do_ like him." 

Ultra Magnus turned on him in a moment, optics blazing. "I do not!" 

Dreadwing rolled his optics but kept walking. "Deny it all you want, old friend, you and I both know it to be the truth." 

"Drop it, _please_." 

Dreadwing allowed Ultra Magnus to catch up with him, falling into an even pace with the larger mech. "As you wish." 

They walked in silence until they arrived back to the village, and Dreadwing didn't comment on how Ultra Magnus glanced towards Ratchet's temple before he transformed into a dragon and took to the skies.

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

In nearly every action movie when the main character was kidnapped, whenever they woke up in the unfamiliar place, they asked one of two questions: "Where am I?" or "Who are you?" to their captors.

Wheeljack was proud to say he did neither. 

His optics opened slowly and painfully, a ringing in his ears from the brightness of the lights in the room. His chest ached and his head was spinning as he blinked to adjust to the light, flashes of colorful plating forming splotches in his vision. 

Instead of speaking at all, he rolled over on the berth and heaved into the available garbage bin. 

"Whoa, Ratchet! Doc Knock! He's awake!" 

Wheeljack groaned and blinked a few times in an attempt to see clearly what was happening, and his vision was met with two faces, both of which seemed vaguely familiar but he couldn't place as to where. 

He didn't have time to ponder whether or not he'd seen them before, because his next action was once again sitting up a little more and heaved the last of his stomach contents into the bin, a slight feeling of embarrassment filling his gut. 

"I'll admit, I didn't think he was much when he first got here, but now I'm even more convinced." A voice muttered, thinking Wheeljack couldn't hear him. Wheeljack rolled his optics as he looked up. The mech on the right, a shorter bright red mech whose plating nearly burned out Wheeljack's optics.

"It's your plating, Red. Ya tryin' to blind me before you introduce yourself?" Wheeljack fired back, a smirk coming to his face as the red mech had the decency to look embarrassed, but there was a strange sense of pride on his face, as if he was happy his plating was so bright and distracting. 

He waved off the servo from the other mech, the red and white one - who's plating was much easier to look at, didn't burn a hole in his optics - and gently placed the garbage bin back on the floor, unneeded. 

"How do you feel?" The red and white one asked, his tone genuine. Wheeljack jerked away when he tried to touch his face, and he respectfully dropped his outreaching hand. 

"Peachy." Wheeljack replied, rolling his optics. "How do I _look_ like I feel?"

"I like him." The red one smirked, his arms still crossed. Wheeljack didn't spare him a glance as the red and white mech's optics glowed a bright red, his servos following. Wheeljack jerked himself out of the way again, his spark thudding in his chest as he realized these mechs could literally off him in a moment if they desired. 

He made a move to spring off the berth, but was stopped as the red and white mech jumped in front of him. "Whoa there! Easy, please, easy." 

Wheeljack's optics narrowed but he stayed put on the berth. "I don't even know who you are, or what your little powers are." 

"I'm Ratchet." The mech said calmly, his servos still raised and no light emitting from them. He gestured to his red companion. "This is Knock Out." 

"And your Jackwheel?" Knock Out smirked as he purposely confused his name, and Wheeljack sneered at him in reply. 

" _Wheeljack_. My friends call me Wheels sometimes if that's too difficult for you, K.O." 

"I think I can pronounce 'Wheeljack' just fine, sweet spark." Knock Out's voice rose an octave as he rolled his optics. 

"Good. Because you're not my friend so I was never gonna let you say that anyway." Wheeljack looked back up to Ratchet, who had remained silent that whole conversation. "What exactly were you gonna do, Doc?" 

Ratchet groaned. "My name is not Doc, and I was going to help further heal some of your other injuries. Most surprisingly, you weren't hurt that bad from your crash landing and while I repaired some of it, there are still some other issues that need some work." 

"Like cosmetic. Goodness, do they even have spas where you come from?" Knock Out walked a few paces forward and picked up a small drill like instrument that had been sitting on the table. "There's so much I could do for your pretty features, Wheeljack. Bulkhead would appreciate it." 

The name startled memories in Wheeljack's brain, taking him back to the - _almost_ \- kiss that had overwhelmed him farther than anything else had in his entire life. The bright green face plate was still fresh in his mind, so close he could almost reach out and pull him closer, on top of him - 

Wheeljack shook himself from his thoughts before they got too carried away. 

He raised his arm and showed off the name that was still written on his plating. There was a deep gash Wheeljack just noticed that cut through the scribbled name. "Can you remove this?" 

Ratchet leaned in and nodded. "I noticed that while you were unconscious. I'm afraid I cannot, but I can fix the rest of you." 

"If you say so, Sunshine." 

" _Ratchet_ , if you please." 

Wheeljack chuckled, the warm feeling a pleasant one in the foreign temple. Everything felt so wrong, so distant to him, but the small laughter that echoed against the walls reminded him of home. 

"Whatever you say, _Ratchet_ ," Wheeljack smirked and stuck out his arm for the mech to take. "talk while you work, I got questions." 

"What am I, spare parts? You can ask me too, pretty boy." Knock Out crossed his arms again, placing the tool down. Wheeljack shrugged as his focus was redirected to Ratchet gently grabbing his arm. 

Ratchet's touch was feather light, the edges of his digits barely touching Wheeljack's plating. The white and red mech seemed almost lost in thought for a moment as he turned over Wheeljack's arm, before flipping it palm side up. 

Ratchet muttered a word under his breath and his optics began to glow red again, his digits illuminating in the same red color. It took all of his self control to not jerk his arm back to his side and jump halfway across the room once again. 

Wheeljack watched his body begin to repair itself, small flecks of red warping around his plating and pulling the wiring and plating together as if it had never been apart. There was no pain with the actions either, he felt only a small itch as the plating latched onto the other side and began to heal from the bottom up. 

When Ratchet's power faded from his arm, there was no scar, no evidence that there had ever been a mark there in the first place. 

Wheeljack stared in his arm in awe, lifting it up to see in different lights to really confirm that there was no scar. 

"I could do the same for your scars on your face too, if you'd like." Ratchet offered innocently. There was a slight twitch of pride in his voice as he noticed that Wheeljack so obviously admired the handiwork. 

"Nah, I like these ones." Wheeljack shook his helm as Ratchet moved onto the next gash on his leg. "So, what are you guys anyway?" 

"Right to the point, I like it." Knock Out smiled. "You may know Primus as your God or creator, but he created _us_ first. We're Gods; the children of Primus created to defeat Unicron and his Titans and protect Cybertron, the dormant body of Primus." 

"Yer from Cybertron? I'd like to think Gods like yerself with all these powers would be told in a few more ghost stories."

It was Ratchet who spoke next. "Primus created you with no memory of what happened. Besides, we had already left when Primus created you, and when he did so he fixed the planet we had destroyed in our battle." 

"What happened to Unicron, if you guys left?" Wheeljack asked, feeling a shudder go down his spine. "I've heard about him, but I've always been told it was just him and Primus who fought each other." 

"Yes and no. They fought alone for a few millennia before they got too lazy and used us to help. But Unicron we banished, while his Titan children were rendered dormant across the galaxy. They're actually - _ow_!" 

Knock Out was interrupted as Ratchet suddenly stomped on his pede. The red God sucked in a breath of pain and Wheeljack stared surprised. Ratchet said nothing about it and went back to fixing Wheeljack's wounds, not even looking him in the eye. 

"How do I get rid of this anyway? Do I have to chip it off?" Wheeljack asked after the silence had gone on for a few moments. He gestured to the newly repaired name on his arm. 

Ratchet took one of Wheeljack's arms between his servos, the red contrasting against the white of his arms. "You can't 'get rid of this'. Not until you return Bulkhead's imprint." 

"How do I do that?" Wheeljack tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice. 

"Easy," Knock Out spoke up and Wheeljack turned his attention to him. "the two of you fall in love." 

Wheeljack stared at him, utterly confused. Ratchet huffed and muttered something Wheeljack didn't quite catch, but his gaze was still trained on Knock Out, and the smugness on his face. 

"Er, _what_?" Wheeljack asked, completely dumbfounded. 

"Well it's all part of the prophecy, you see, and -" 

"Yip, yip yip!" Ratchet interrupted, his servos becoming normal and his optics lost their glow. "Don't scare him anymore than you already have, Knock Out." Ratchet turned his attention back to Wheeljack. "An imprint is when one person sees the person they want to spend the rest of their life with, so they place a claim on said person. It can take form in a change of optic color, or different plating, or you begin to act like the other. 

Regardless, the imprint can only fade from the person's form if they return the love and promise to love each other forever. For example, Optimus imprinted on me, and I got splotches of blue and red on my chassis. When Cliffjumper imprinted on Arcee, she got more light hearted and acted like him. Once Arcee and myself returned the declaration of love, the imprint faded. That's all you need to know for now." 

"Cliffjumper and Arcee?" 

"You'll meet them later. I think you and Cliffjumper will get along just fine, you both give off a 'space cowboy' persona." Knock Out tapped his chin thoughtfully. 

It was a lot to take in. 

Wheeljack didn't know if he should purge his tanks or pass out again, but the room was beginning to spin around him. 

"Here, drink this." Wheeljack refocused on the medical bay and the other people in it, and saw Ratchet holding out a cube of energon for him. Wheeljack gave him a wary glance, and Ratchet rolled his optics. "I just spent the last half of my day repairing your wounds. Do you really think I would poison you now?" 

Wheeljack supposed that was stupid of him to assume, so he graciously took the cube and took a few sips. The energon was rich and delicious, some of the best he'd ever had in his life.

"Thank you," Wheeljack said and Ratchet nodded, taking a few steps back. "but what happens if I don't love him?" 

Knock Out let out a laugh before Ratchet could tell him to shut his mouth. "With _that_ chemistry you saw the ol' Bulk?" Knock Out snorted again. "You'll have a hard time convincing anyone here you're not." 

As Ratchet scolded the child, a dark feeling in his gut told him that she was right. 

"Let me show you where you'll be sleeping, Wheeljack." Ratchet offered, helping Wheeljack rise from the berth. "We will also be eating dinner soon, but you are under no obligation to join us." 

Wheeljack nodded his thanks and allowed himself to be led up the stairs towards his temporary home. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

The tunnel leading down to the main chamber was long and winding, but Bulkhead had designed it that way. Different pathways on each side that would lead someone astray quite easily if they didn't know where they were going. 

Not that anyone could even get in here, but just in case they found a way. 

Bulkhead took a quick right and then the second left, and continued to walk straight for a few minutes. Water dripped down from the ceiling, landing with little, soft sounds that almost made a song around him. He allowed a smile to come to his face for a brief moment as he remembered that he had made this, made these beautiful songs. 

The smile vanished as quickly as it came. His mind was elsewhere; he didn't need to focus on the pathway to the main cavern because he'd been here so many times. Besides, he'd built the damn thing. 

Bulkhead could practically hear Ratchet and Ultra Magnus already, their scolding voices raised to new octaves and what they would say when they found him. He could already see the concerned and sad look on everyone else's faces, the disappointed and betrayed look on Miko's. 

He hadn't wanted to leave her behind; if he could go back again he'd take her with him, but Bulkhead could not turn back time and he wasn't about to go back and get her. 

No, he couldn't go back to the village. Not yet. 

He knew he had been gone for about two days, give or take. He'd only meant to run out of the village to get away from... _him_ so he could think clearly for two minutes, but he found the longer he stayed away the less he wanted to go back. 

There was still a large pulling on his spark as if it wanted him to turn around and march back into that little mech's arms, but he resisted the pull and kept walking forward. 

Bulkhead stepped into the main cavern, the high ceiling opening at the time to let in some natural light. 

The main cavern was maybe two hundred feet up, giving Bulkhead plenty of space to lay around and even fly a little if he so wished. There were multiple layers as well, sides of the wall jutting out to provide walkways and lounging areas. 

Bulkhead looked around and saw no one, and put his hands on his hips as he looked around. A joyful grin came to his face plates as he realized he had surprised them. 

"Marco!" Bulkhead cried out, followed by three whistles: two long, one short. 

Silence followed for a moment, but Bulkhead knew he had been heard.

Bulkhead laughed as he heard the joyful cries of his little critters, and the loud stomping of their feet as they realized he was there. 

Soon, tiny little faces began to emerge from behind rocks or _from_ the rocks, little green eyes opening and blinking a few times. A few opened their wings with others stretched and yawned, their tiny mouths opening widely. 

Bulkhead opened his arms and crouched down as his critters began to run towards him, their joyful cries mixing with his joyful laughter. 

There were twenty six critters total - one for each letter of the Valeran Alphabet - and so each of them could have a friend or sleeping buddy. Each of them came in different sizes and shapes: some went up to Bulkhead's knee while the tallest was at his shoulder, some had wings while others had six legs. What they had in common was they were all made of the living rocks Bulkhead produced from his own powers, and their glowing eyes were all the same color. 

The largest one crashed into him, knocking him over as he licked his face joyfully. Bulkhead laughed and tried to open his eyes despite the attack on him, but he was unsuccessful as other critters jumped on top of him as well. 

"Oh come on Quincy, let me up!" Bulkhead pleaded, managing to push the largest one off of him. The critter let out a sad noise, but stayed on his lap as Bulkhead sat up. "You're really too big to be a lap animal, you know that right?" 

Quincy let out a small roar, but didn't move. 

Bulkhead let out a surprised yell as someone bit his side, and he looked down and wasn't surprised to see the smallest critter, Albus, trying to nibble away at his plating. 

"Oh stop it, I told you last time I would get down here as soon as I could. Wait 'till I tell you guys what happened while I was gone." Bulkhead pulled Albus onto his shoulder as well as another small critter, Ferris, onto his other shoulder. 

"Oh Nickel, what happened to your leg?" Bulkhead pulled another critter towards him, this one was medium sized with six legs and little wings on his back. One of his legs was twisted and looked to have been bitten. Nickel made a sad noise and lifted the leg to be fixed. "Was Ice being mean again?" 

Nickel nodded, and immediently another medium sized critter with four legs dashed over and bite his cheek. 

"Oh stop it Ice, you're so rude to him." Bulkhead swirled his power around his hand and fixed Nickel's leg right up, good as new. 

Bulkhead sighed and leaned back as the rest of his critters cuddled up around him. "What do you guys say we have a nice little slumber party?" Bulkhead sighed deeply as the rest of the critters cuddled up against each other, and Bulkhead could _feel_ his problems melting away as if they'd never been there. 

"Yeah, I could really use a slumber party right now." Bulkhead felt his optics getting heavy and his mind becoming clearer as he drifted off into sleep, all of his little critters snuggled up against him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The idea of Bulkhead's critters came to me last night while I was finishing the final draft of this chapter. I feel like he would totally be the guy to have like eighty pets and no one can say anything about it, so there we go. :) Hope you guys enjoyed! See you next week


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Hope you all are staying happy and healthy. 
> 
> I just wanted to thank you guys for all the kind words and kudos you guys have left for me on this work, Murder at Castle de Beauvior, and any other work I've written thus far. It really does mean the world to me and encourages me to keep writing. So thank you guys *virtual hug* 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy!

Cliffjumper let out a cry as Ratchet slapped his hand, causing the edge of his armor to dip into the mashed potatoes. Cliffjumper drew his arm back and shook off the small traces of the creamy food, then giving a dramatic kiss to the back of his hand while glaring at the Healing God. 

"What? We've been sitting here for like, an _hour_ , I don't think he's gonna show." Cliffjumper defended himself, and everyone at the table shared a glance of agreement. "Besides, the food is getting cold, and cold steak really isn't that tasty." 

"We can reheat it in two seconds, Cliff." Arcee smirked at her spark mate, and he gave her an offended look for not taking his side. 

It was dinner time at Valeran, and Megatron had prepared that night's dish of steak, mashed potatoes and other gourmet foods they thought Wheeljack would love. They had attempted to lay out the red carpet for him, Optimus making everyone swear to limit the staring and awkward questions and try to talk about other things in an attempt make the new mech feel more welcome at Valeran. 

The main temple had been decorated and rearranged to look more like Cybertron, with metal ceilings and floors, as well as what architecture they could remember from their few days without war on its surface. The table had been extended to fit everyone, but Bulkhead's seat remained empty. They had done everything they could to feel like friends and not foes. 

However, it was like Cliffjumper said; dinner was supposed to start an hour ago and Wheeljack had yet to show. At first his tardiness could be excused as he got lost and Ultra Magnus had left to try and find him, only to return a few minutes later with no Wheeljack in tow.

Ultra Magnus said Wheeljack promised he would go to dinner in a few minutes, but clearly that had been a lie. 

"Can you blame him?" Knock Out crossed his arms over his chassis and leaned back. "I don't want to spend more time with you guys then I have to, and we're family." A few chuckled at his comment. 

"I concur with your statement, Knock Out. I rather enjoyed not having to look at Smokescreen's blinding color scheme." Starscream added, but there was a familiar undertone of fondness in his voice. 

"Now now, let's not get too crude here," Fowler spoke up, his tone serious. A smirk cracked through her serious face and he jerked a thumb at Knock Out. "I think K.O here's got a much more eccentric plating." 

Knock Out gleamed under the praise to his finish. "Breakdown and I polish it twice a day, with an oil bath every other. I could give you some tips," Knock Out glanced at Megatron's finish, which was covered in scars and marks the God wore proudly as a sign of his battle-hardened years and skills. "some of us need it." 

Megatron rolled his optics and refilled his wine glass. Optimus gave him a fond smile from his seat, but it was gone quickly as he reentered the conversation. 

For the next few minutes, calm conversation filtered through the large family, some talking about new battle strategies or games to play, while others talked about defensive plans or who could race the fastest through the Gorge. 

Arcee sighed and took her napkin off her lap and placed it on her plate. As she stood up, the scraping of her chair legs across the floor attracted everyone's attention to her, but it didn't stop her from rising to her pedes. 

"Arcee, please do not leave, he could come at any moment -" Ultra Magnus insisted, the hopefulness in his voice barely hidden in his regular dinner tone. 

"I'm going to go to the temple to find him right now, make sure he didn't try and sneak away." Arcee explained, placing a quick kiss on Cliffjumper's cheek as she walked past him. "He's in the med bay temple, right Ratchet?" Ratchet nodded and took a few items onto his plate, to be ready to eat immediently when Arcee got back. Cliffjumper was right, after all: steak was much better fresh and hot. 

"Let me come with!" Arcee turned and allowed Miko to jump into her arms, but June rose to her feet to retaliate. 

"Oh no young lady, you need to eat the dinner Megatron prepared for you!" 

Miko rolled her eyes. "I've been snacking this whole time, I'm already full!" The young girl protested, crossing her arms defiantly. Her demeanor softened for a moment. 

"Please?" She clasped her hands in front of her face and gave June the best puppy dog eyes she could perform. 

June sighed. "I guess, as long as you eat whatever's left when you three get back." 

Arcee noticed how June said three, not two, but she didn't comment on her doubts that Wheeljack would come back with her. 

Arcee and Miko waved goodbye as they left the dining area, making their way towards Ratchet's medical bay. The suns were setting on their respective horizons and the skies were filled with beautiful pinks and dark blues and oranges, all melting into the darkness of the early night. Miko pointed up at the beginnings of stars high above them, looking around for her favorite consolation. 

Ratchet's temple wasn't too far from the main temple, so it was only a few minute's walk. The statue of Ratchet on the top still had a red orb in its hand, but not everything about the temple was the same. 

The green vines that extended up the walls remained, woven into the cracks of the brick like they had been there for thousands of years. However, the formerly red and white roses that had been sitting on the outside of the temple to represent Ratchet's color scheme had been replaced. There were now large bushes of red, orange and yellow flowers of all different kinds: tulips, roses, poppies, other flowers with similar color schemes. 

"It almost looks like a fire." Miko wondered out loud, and Arcee agreed silently. 

Arcee placed the little Valeran on the ground as they reached the top of the stairs. Arcee could feel the warmth coming from the inside of the temple before she even got a good look inside, but something about Wheeljack being in this room made it seem more _cozy_. 

Maybe it was because Ratchet refused to use any sort of heat in his temple save for emergencies, and the med bay was now above freezing. 

Arcee and Miko stepped through the threshold, looking around them. Most of the decorations on the wall were the same; the moving pictures and decor remained, the stairway to the medical bay was opened and unblocked. The torches on the sides of the wall were lit, and Arcee noted that a few extra were lit as well. 

Wheeljack was sitting on the spare berth in the center of the room, legs crossed and the red fluffy blanket thrown around his shoulders. Even though he was facing Miko and Arcee, he didn't even notice them coming in. 

There was something he was working on, Arcee realized, as she noticed Wheeljack's optics were zeroed in on the small device in his hands. There were a few small wires and metal pieces thrown around him, and a few of Ratchet's tools had been brought up from the medical bay. 

Ratchet would not be pleased that his tools were no longer sterilized. 

"Ahem!" Miko cleared her throat loudly, and made a disgusted look on her face when Wheeljack didn't acknowledge her. Miko stomped her foot loudly. " _Ahem_!" 

Wheeljack looked up then, his expression unchanging when he saw the two beings standing in front of him. "You guys got a fusion welder anywhere? I couldn't find it downstairs." 

All of Miko's anger at being ignored vanished with the excitement of Wheeljack making something, hopefully explosive. "What do you need a fusion welder for? Are you making a bomb? Or maybe a canon?!" 

Wheeljack's mouth twitched upwards in a smirk and a gleam of fondness came into his optic. "No, I'm just tryna' put the Jackhammer's comm system back together to contact the home world." 

Miko's expression sunk again. "Wait, why? You're leaving already?" 

Wheeljack hesitated, clearly not wanting to disappoint this little girl. He stammered for a moment and no words came out, and Arcee knew it was her time to step in. 

"Hey, Miko, can you go find that fusion welder?" The blue God wasn't really asking, but Miko didn't seem to notice. 

"Sure! I bet it's in Ratchet's storage. I'll go see if I can find it!" The young woman began to sprint towards the lower level, eager to help and get back to Wheeljack and Arcee. 

Arcee turned after watching her leave and wasn't surprised to see Wheeljack had already looked back down at his work. 

Silence stretched between them, neither of them finding anything to say. 

"Dinner's ready whenever you are." Arcee finally said. 

Wheeljack's digits didn't stop moving around the small box. He picked up a red wire from beside him and began to put it in place. "Didn't know ya were waitin' on me. Magnus told me to come if I found the time."

"We wanted to help make you feel welcome, and besides, you're probably starving after all that traveling and attempted kidnapping the other day." 

"Not hungry." Wheeljack insisted, but Arcee could tell that was a lie. 

She lifted her servo and twirled her fingers around and an apple appeared in Wheeljack's lap. He picked it up, took a bite and muttered a quick few words of thanks before he went back to his work. 

Silence stretched again, and Arcee pulled up a chair. 

"Are you really?" Arcee tried to keep the desperation out of her voice. "Leaving?" 

"I don't have a ship." Wheeljack deadpanned. 

"If you did." Arcee tilted her head as Wheeljack averted his gaze and kept working. "Something's keeping you here." 

Wheeljack's digits didn't stop, but they slowed. 

"Someone, maybe?" 

Wheeljack did stop working then, and looked slowly up at Arcee. There was a surprising amount of anger in his optics, but Arcee could see his confusion underneath it. 

"If yer tryna' say that I'm stayin' to try and hook up with Bulkhead 'cause _Primus said so_ , yer dead wrong." 

"I'm not saying that." 

"Then what _are_ you saying?" 

"You know that us Gods can form ships in minutes flat and you could be outta here without ever looking back. And I haven't known you for very long, but you seem like the guy who runs more than he stays." 

"Hey, don't assume you know me." 

"I'm not assuming." Arcee countered, sliding forward so she was on the edge of her seat. "But am I wrong?" 

Wheeljack opened his mouth to retort, but Arcee interjected quickly. "Not about you hooking up with him, but how you're staying here for him." 

Wheeljack closed his mouth, his lip plates set in a thin line while his optic twitched. 

Arcee stood up then, trying to keep the satisfied grin off her face. "You should go find him." 

Wheeljack let out a laugh; not forced but also not a real laugh either. He stopped laughing after a moment, a distant look forming in his eyes and his expression pensive.

Wheeljack slowly rose from the bed, taking a few steps forward so he was standing beside the smaller femme. Arcee noted then he wasn't as tall as she had been expecting; while he was certainly much taller than her, he was barely taller than Cliffjumper. 

"You guys haven't been able to find him in days, why should I bother?" 

Arcee smiled softly. "I think you'll have better luck than the rest of us." 

Wheeljack hesitated, but not for long. 

Arcee blinked and he was running out of the temple, the extra fire on the walls vanishing the moment he stepped through the doorway. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"June, come look at this!" 

"Mom, come join us!" 

"Look at how high I can go!" 

June chuckled and took another sip of her drink, watching as the children jumped up and down on the trampoline. 

The trampoline was a concept gifted from the Gods; an idea drafted in the war on accident that became more of a way for them to calm down and relax in between strikes and attacks. They brought it with them to Valeran, and set up a large trampoline for the children and other members of the village. 

Miko was practicing her double flips while Raf and Jack were having a competition to see who could jump the highest, and Raf was surprisingly winning. Their joyful laughter filled the air and made the already bright and sunny day a little better. 

She, as well as all the other bakers in the village, had finished all their cooking early for the day and were taking the rest of it off, content to enjoy the beauty of the weather while it lasted, before the days became shorter and colder and the snow began to fall.

While she was more content to cozy up with her husband with a good book and a little fire going before them, watching her son and his closest friends bounce to high heaven was a close second on her list, surprisingly. 

Miko let out a squeal of joy and nearly fell off the side of the trampoline as she landed her first successful double flip, her mouth wide in a joyful grin. She sat down on the tarp and began to watch Jack and Raf bounce, the force of their jumping causing her to move a little as well.

Jack had begun to try and push Raf down so he could win the competition, and Raf reciprocated by bouncing farther away, making a point to get higher and higher the farther he moved away. 

"We should go join them, honey." June looked up and smiled at Fowler, reaching for his hand with her open one and squeezing it. She laughed a little and rolled her eyes at her husband's suggestion. "I think we could show 'em a thing or too, or give them a run for their money." 

June laughed even harder. "And what, break your back in the process? I don't think so Macho-Man." Fowler scratched the back of his neck awkwardly and cleared his throat. 

"Honey, you know my back is doing just fine." 

"Right now it is. but you and I both know the second you take that first jump, your back is going to snap in two." June replied, nothing but humor in her tone. Fowler leaned down and placed a kiss on her cheek as booming footsteps came from behind them. 

June turned slowly as she spoke to address the leader of the Gods as he approached them. "Optimus, tell him that we will not - _Oh my Lord_!" 

She was not greeted with the sight she expected. 

Every now and then, the Gods surprised her by showing up completely coated in mud or dirt (and by Gods, that meant Cliffjumper and Smokescreen) and leaking their disgusting mess across the temple floors. Other times, a training session would get a little too carried away and a God would have a bruise that wasn't healing right and need to come to Ratchet for help, giving her a heart attack when she saw their bashed up face or twisted leg. 

But this. This was not that. 

Optimus and Arcee were standing side by side, hunched over slightly, their mouths open and energon dripping down the sides. Their chests were ripped open, a hole where their sparks should have been. Energon was bubbling out of their open wounds, running down their arms and legs and pooling underneath them on the floor. 

"Mom?" 

June gasped and turned around, clasping her hands in front of her mouth as she tried to stop the sob that came to her throat. 

The children, once lively and smiling and bouncing up and down, were laid across the tarp of the trampoline, their breathing slow and labored as they struggled to keep their eyes open. 

Fowler laid before them, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his mouth closed, his clothes stained red with an injury that June couldn't see. 

"Oh honey, no!" June ran over to him, trying to pull his head into her hands and hold him close. In her frantic haste, she moved on almost instantly, running onto the trampoline and pulling her son into her arms, ignoring the coldness of his skin against her cheek. 

Sobs shook her chest and tears fell down her face as she held her son close, desperately pleading for him to come back. 

"Oh June," A singsong voice called out, a chuckle coming at the end of the sentence. "do you like what I've done with them?" 

June managed to force herself to pull away from Jack's face, looking back towards the voice. She couldn't even force a sob out of her throat at the scene before her. 

The entire village was laid out at the feet of a tall, dark figure; June wasn't focused on at the moment. June recognized her friends, her family, even Silas and his MECH followers laid among the fallen, lying still and calm, almost as if they were sleeping. 

Off to the right, laid the bodies of the Gods, distorted and the life choked out of them like Optimus and Arcee, their sparks missing from their chests and energon pooling out of their wounds. June recognized Megatron at the top of the pile, his mouth still open in a silent scream of agony even though his optics had long since darkened. 

Off to another side, laid Bulkhead, his plating more blue than green now, so much so June couldn't tell what was wrong with him fully. The ground was distorted where he laid, looking as if his own powers was crushing him. It looked as if he had been targeted, his body so broken and beaten up he must have been fighting multiple enemies at once. 

The new mech - _Wheeljack_ \- was the last one she saw, in the arms of the black figure before her. He was badly beaten up, one of his optics ripped out of its sockets and one of his arms was so shredded it could barely be called an arm anymore. There was a large gash in his stomach that stained the black figure's hands, but she only seemed to relish it more.

June finally managed the courage to look up at the tall figure, his heart pounding in her chest out of fear of what she might see. 

The black figure was as tall as the Gods, with glowing optics and blackness literally coming off of her in waves, floating off into the air like the bubbles the children would play with on occasion. She had glowing black hair that just seemed to float behind her, and a dangerous smirk on her lips. 

She dropped Wheeljack out of her arms, and the sound his body crunching against the ground made June's stomach churn. There was a weak cry of pain from the white mech as one of his winglets snapped off against the ground, energon pooling beneath him. 

"No!" June managed to sob, clasping her hands over her mouth again, Jack slipping on her lap a little. 

"You choose the wrong team, little lady." The figure chuckled, raising her fist. A dark orb of black fire burst from her hand, and she extended it outward towards Wheeljack. The black fire caught against his plating easily and the white mech let out a silent scream as the black fire devoured him. 

"You have no hope." June couldn't look up from her son's face, determined to ignore the heat beside her, the tall figure in front of her, and the bodies of her people surrounding her. She looked at Jack's face, trying to keep her breathing steady and controlled. 

Sobs shook her body and tears ran down her face anyway. 

"I hope you remember this dream, for it will soon become your reality." June heard a new sound of fire, and when she looked up, she was met with the black orb moving quickly towards her face.

June shot up in bed, screaming and clutching at the sheets. 

"Honey, honey!" Fowler pleaded, springing up next to his wife and wrapping his arms around her, trying to get her to see she wasn't trapped in some dream land anymore. 

It wasn't the first time June had awoken with terrible nightmares of the Titan threat, and it was far from the last. 

"You're okay!" Fowler grabbed both of June's shoulders and pulled her against his chest, putting his chin atop of her head and calming his breathing down for her to listen to his heartbeat. "I'm alive. We're all alive. Jack, Miko and Raf are all sleeping in their beds. We tucked them in a few hours ago." 

June slowly began to calm down, her tears slowing and her breathing becoming more controlled as she began to realize she wasn't trapped where she thought she was. 

"There we go. That's it." Fowler whispered, his voice calm and soothing. "It's alright. You're safe." 

They stayed like this for a few minutes, whispering the only noise aside from June's shaky breathing. Fowler didn't push her, allowing her to take her time to feel better and ready to speak. 

"You're safe?" June asked after a few moments. 

Fowler placed a kiss on the top of her head, hugging her closer as he laid them back down. "I'm safe. We all are." 

June nodded against his chest, her breathing becoming slower and calmer. "And the kids? They're safe?" 

Fowler nodded. "Yes, they're all safe. They're having a sleepover in Bumblebee's temple, remember? We tucked them in and read them that book Jack wrote when he was a little kid." 

June chuckled. "The Red Chicken. He was so proud of that book." 

"Bumblebee won't let anything happen to them, you know this sweetheart." Fowler murmured. "Just rest, I got you." 

June sighed and cuddled closer to her husband. 

"Why did we let them come?" 

Fowler paused, the question catching him off guard. 

It hadn't been an easy decision to welcome the Gods into their fold; they were large, metal beings with immense powers and not to mention the amount of baggage they carried with them. It had been a risk from day one, and June had expressed caution and anger in the decision weeks into the Gods' presence. 

Fowler sucked in a breath, releasing slowly to help calm June down a little more. "Because it was the right thing to do."

They laid in silence after that, Fowler rubbing circles on June's back until he thought she was asleep. When his hand relaxed and just pressed against her back, he heard her whisper: "Wheeljack better save us all." 

Fowler said nothing about it, but the thought of Wheeljack not being 'the One' plagued him until he fell into an uneasy sleep, June still tucked close to him. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"Kup? You in here?" Springer called out, ducking under the half closed door into Kup's living quarters. The room was dim and looked unoccupied at first glance, but upon further inspection there were dirty energon cubes in the sink and the door to the garbage closet was open. 

Kup only closed it when he left to the shop, so since it was open, that meant Kup was still in here somewhere. 

"Primus it smells like my great Aunt Tessie." Impactor grimaced as he eyed the dirty cubes in the sink. "Kup really should get a cleaning crew or somethin' 'cause this is a mess." 

"I'm old, but I ain't deaf." A gruff voice sounded from upstairs, and the two mechs exchanged a glance of relief that Kup was okay. They made their way up the stairs, peaking into a few of the rooms before they found Kup sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands. 

Kup looked a little worse for wear to put it nicely. Despite the evidence downstairs that energon had been consumed, it looked like he hadn't eaten in a few days at least, his colors starting to gray a little. Impactor motioned to Springer to get some, and Springer didn't need to be told twice, dashing down the stairs again to find a cube.

"Hey Kup, you haven't been in at the shop for a few days, me and Springer wanted ta check in on ya." Impactor said honestly, taking a small step closer to the older mech. Springer reappeared then, offering the cube forward. 

It was true, Kup had been AWOL from his own shop ever since Wheeljack left, and Impactor wasn't too sure there wasn't a coincidence involved there. 

"I'm fine." Kup muttered weakly, taking the cube that was offered without looking up at either mech. "Go away." 

"Yeah, can't do that." Springer chuckled, sitting down on the floor in front of Kup, and Impactor moved to do the same. "It's about Wheeljack, isn't it?" 

Kup looked up at that, a sad expression on his face. While Springer, Impactor and Wheeljack were all very close with Kup, Kup and Wheeljack went _way_ back; Kup promised he helped clean Wheeljack up after he puked all over himself as a youngling, and Wheeljack denied it happening every time. They had a very strong bond that one only wished they could replicate with their sparklings. 

Kup began to reluctantly tell the story of what happened to Wheeljack, beginning with how he came to the shop and attempting to interrogate him over the apparent ghost he had been seeing, and how he wanted to help Wheeljack get to this new planet faster, and how Wheeljack disappeared far too early into his flight. 

"Wait, say that again." 

"I'm tellin' ya! Wheeljack told me he reached Valeran n' a quarter of the time." 

"Didn't you just put in a new compulsion system in the Jackhammer for him? Wouldn't that explain how he got there so fast?"

"Well yeah, but my systems aren't _that_ great. Not yet, at least." 

"How long and how fast?" 

"About six million light years in a day." 

"No scrap." 

Kup sunk a little further on his bed, putting his face into his hands and sighing. "I haven't talked ta him since his comm cut out. Said the planet was pullin' him in." 

Springer and Impactor shared a glance. 

"Kup, and you're sure he's not -" Springer asked hesitantly. 

"He ain't dead." Kup sprang up and was in Springer's face before the green mech could finish his sentence. The younger mech nodded slowly and sighed, conceding and agreeing to not mention that area again. Kup sighed again and sat back down in his chair. 

Impactor crossed his arms and placed one servo under his chin. "Well what do you want us to do? It's not like we have the coordinates to where he went -" 

"Valeran." 

"Whatever. Could be the fraggin' sun for all I care, point is, we don't know where Wheeljack ended up." 

Kup pulled out a data pad off his bedside table and began frantically typing. "I do." 

Springer and Impactor shared another glance, and Springer groaned. "You really should have led with this, buddy." 

Kup rolled his optics and finished pressing a few last buttons before the coordinates appeared before him. "Got it." 

Without warning, he sprang up and walked past Springer and Impactor without even waiting to see if they were coming with. 

"Uh, Kup? Where do you think you're going?" Impactor asked, rising to his feet to chase after the old man. Springer groaned but followed behind a second later. "We can't just _go after him_ -" 

"You younglings' don't have to, but I am." Kup replied, running down the stairs. "I've got the new compulsion system put into one of my ships by tomorrow afternoon, and we can leave by the next mornin'. We should probably check in with Seaspray, Primus knows he needs to get away from Alana for a few days." 

Springer and Impactor sighed, but excitement was filling their sparks at the idea that they were going to find Wheeljack and bring him home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Kup and the gang to rescue! 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed, see you next week!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Another week another chapter. 
> 
> How is everybody? I feel like this week was both the longest and the shortest week ever :/ I had my birthday but the whole world is crumbling around us and honestly kinda feeling tired all the time. 
> 
> My school is going hybrid now (god forbid we put the health of our students above money but okay) so hopefully I'll have more time to write for you guys and also take some time for my mental health. Idk man one can hope. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you guys are staying safe and enjoy this chapter!

Wheeljack was not lost. No way. He was an experienced explorer with a perfect sense of direction. He could find his way out of anything. 

Wheeljack looked around, trying to see at least one of the moons through the shadows of the trees, but the overgrowth was too thick that almost no moonlight was coming through. 

It was hard to find his way when he couldn't see the stars for direction. 

"Good Primus!" Wheeljack cried as he tripped over a fallen tree trunk. He had been so focused on the sky above that he had forgotten to look ahead of him to see the - quiet large - tree trunk in his path. Wheeljack sat up and twisted, spitting grass and dirt out of his mouth and pushing some off of his cheeks. 

Wheeljack sighed and fell backwards onto his back. He'd tripped over this tree trunk the first time he'd seen it, and the second time he'd remembered to step over it. 

Maybe he _was_ lost. 

Wheeljack shook his helm and looked around, trying to find something to get him out of this stupid forest. 

He had left maybe an hour ago to try and find Bulkhead, to convince him to come back to camp or something like that. It hadn't been very light when he'd left Arcee and the girl Miko in the temple, but now it was most definitely dark, especially since he had little to no moonlight through the trees to guide himself. 

The Voice was also dead silent, unlike how it had been when Wheeljack had found Bulkhead in the temple. He never thought he would be asking to hear voice in his mind, but now he was just hoping for _any_ sense of direction. 

Wheeljack pushed himself to his feet, walking a few paces forward before he took a sharp turn to the right. 

He knew he hadn't gone _deeper_ into the forest yet in an effort to avoid anything that might be lurking inside, but maybe Bulkhead had depended on the fear of the unknown when he had run away. 

Arcee hadn't warned him about any mysterious creatures that lurked in the forest, but he realized he hadn't stuck around to ask. 

Wheeljack ducked under a low hanging branch before he stepped over another fallen log, a smirk coming to his face as he realized small bits of moonlight illuminated his path now. 

"I knew it. I'm not lost, I just needed to get my groove back." Wheeljack stretched his arms above his head as he walked into a clearing, the moonlight shining down brightly since there were no trees to hide it. "Could I find my way back to the village? Probably not, but that's just 'cause I don't _wanna_ go back yet." 

Wheeljack paused when he got to the center of the clearing, looking around at his surroundings. There was a single rock beside him, large and gray and all around not interesting to look at. There was a small pool of water surrounding the base of the rock, and Wheeljack looked closer and saw small fishes swimming around in the water. 

The edge of the clearing was guarded with thorns and bushes, and Wheeljack could hear the sound of tiny critters rummaging around in the forest, but nothing sounded too close or too dangerous. 

Wheeljack rolled his optics and let out a loud groan as he leaned against the rock that had a small stream of water coming out of the top, almost like a little fountain. 

"I could just light up the forest and find my way back with no trees in the way. I'm sure they can grow everything back in a day." Wheeljack lifted on servo, palm up. A small emblem of fire danced on his plating, blowing around in the small amount of wind. "Pit, an hour." 

"Ow," Wheeljack's arm twitched and he slapped at it almost absentmindedly, as if a small flying organic bug had landed on him. He looked down and his optics widened when he saw Bulkhead's messy hand writing was lighting up with a bright green glow. 

There was a shifting on his back that caused Wheeljack to jump away from the rock he had been leaning on, turning back to look at it in surprise. The ground rumbled beneath his feet and Wheeljack looked around, waiting for someone to announce this was a funny joke and they 'got him good' or something. 

The water suddenly stopped flowing from the fountain and the pool dried up almost instantly. The rocks gave a groan and parted in the middle, and Wheeljack was surprised to see a tunnel beneath it. He couldn't see too far down, but he could tell it went down and out for a while based on the shadows on the wall. 

Wheeljack's spark gave a twist in his chest, and he was starting to become familiar with what that twist meant. 

'Bulkhead is down there.' Wheeljack thought to himself. 'Go to him.' 

His pedes moved forward without him really thinking about it, and before he could comprehend it, he was walking down the tunnel into the lower levels. 

Wheeljack could hear water dripping from the cave's ceiling, but the more he traveled the cooler it became. Not unbearable, but enough to be noticeable. Wheeljack looked down, and noticed on either side of the pathway he was walking on were rivers, running down the same way he was. 

There were a lot of twists and turns, and Wheeljack was beginning to wonder if it had been a good idea to come down here without a guide. 

Well, he seemed to do alright in the forest without a guide, and the water beside him led back up the way he came, so it couldn't be too hard to find his way out should he wish to turn back. 

Wheeljack turned a corner and began to hear chirping and squealing noises, followed by a quiet laugh and reassuring voice. 

"Nickel, come down from there. I'm not going to fix you if you break an arm again." The voice said warmly. "Wilbur didn't mean that and you know it." 

Wheeljack rounded another corner and stopped in his tracks. 

At there end of the tunnel there was a cove, stretching several hundred feet up. There were several ledges and stacks in the cove, and what appeared to be little beds. On the main level, it was surrounded by a rings of water, and fire torches were on each level, making the room especially warm and cozy. 

"Icy, stop complaining. I'll get to you when I get to you. But if you keep complaining I'm going to go to Tom-Tom first." 

Wheeljack looked up to the second level of the cove and saw Bulkhead sitting there, surrounded by beings of all shapes and sizes. They all appeared to be made of either rocks or boulders, and they were all desperately trying to get Bulkhead's attention; whether that meant crawling on his lap or licking the side of his face. 

Wheeljack heard a loud cry and suddenly a large rock beast was knocking him over. 

Wheeljack fell onto his back with a loud grunt, and the rock beast stayed above him, sniffing his face, its green eyes wide and curious. It looked almost like an organic creature called a 'dog', but Wheeljack couldn't be sure. 

Wheeljack tried to sit up and push the fire thing off of him, but the creature whined and crawled into his lap, looking up at him with wide, expectant eyes. Slowly, Wheeljack raised a servo - which he now realized the name was still glowing - and gently began rubbing up and down the rock creature's head. 

It seemed to like it, so Wheeljack continued, lifting his other servo to do the same. 

"How did you find this place?" 

Wheeljack looked up as Bulkhead spoke to him. The God's face was slightly angry and his optics were narrowed. In his servo was a tiny little rock being, and two more were perched on his shoulder and arm. 

"Not sure, really." Wheeljack admitted, holding Bulkhead's gaze. "I was tryin' to work on parts for my new ship, when Arcee came n' told me you needed to be rescued." 

Bulkhead rolled his optics, but Wheeljack could see the small smile on his face even from this far of a distance. 

"I found a little clearing and the rock structure just _moved_." Wheeljack explained, and Bulkhead lifted an optic ridge. Wheeljack met his gaze, and they stared at each other in silence for a moment. 

"No one knows about this place." Bulkhead looked away when one of the rock creatures squealed at him. He lifted a servo and scratched the side of its face. "That's why I came here. I made it so nobody could get in." Bulkhead's optics shifted quickly so he was looking at his imprint on Wheeljack's arms. "Stupid imprint, probably fooled the defenses and let you in thinking it was me." 

"You _made_ this place? So you dug a big ol' tunnel and built this?" Wheeljack asked in shock. Bulkhead tilted his helm. 

" _No_ , I made this place with my _powers_." Bulkhead said slowly as if he was talking to a child. "I may be big and strong but that doesn't mean I spend my free time digging tunnels." 

"Really? Coulda fooled me, those big strong arms are you're look like you've put in the work of diggin' a big tunnel like this." 

Bulkhead ignored the compliment and narrowed his own optics. 

"Everyone's worried about you, ya know." Wheeljack continued as the creature settled down in his lap. "What are these things anyway?" 

"I call 'em my critters. I made them when I made this hideout. I only meant to make one or two, but then I got carried away. Two became seven, and then they all needed friends of course." Bulkhead gestured to all of the creatures, and Wheeljack noticed there were more on upper levels. "All twenty six of them." 

"Twenty six?" 

"One for each letter of the Valeran Alphabet." Bulkhead elaborated. He sighed and rubbed his hand across one of the critter's backs. "I know everyone's missing me. I'll come back when I'm ready." 

"And when will that be?" Wheeljack questioned. "A week? A month?" 

Bulkhead shrugged. "Depends on how long you plan to stay." 

Wheeljack let out a chuckle, but it quickly died in his throat as he realized Bulkhead wasn't laughing back. "You're kiddin' me, right?" 

Bulkhead hesitated, but his gaze didn't leave Wheeljack's. "Wheeljack, I'm sure you're a great Bot, if looks is anythin' to go by, then you're an excellent person," there was an obvious pause as they both thought back to their almost-kiss, and for the first time Wheeljack fought the movement to push forward towards the green mech, the Voice becoming a small whisper in the back of his mind. "but I'm not interested in fallin' in love 'cause of some prophecy told to me by Primus." 

"Primus?" 

"Our cool and capricious creator. Got a sick sense of humor too. First chance I got I would pound his face into scrap." Bulkhead stood up and jumped up into the air, landing in front of Wheeljack. The ground shook a little from the impact of the God landing on it, and Wheeljack was slightly impressed from the massive force caused by the mech. 

Two of his critters were still on his shoulders, and Wheeljack could see out of the corner of his optic the rest of the them slowly following behind their creator. "Haven't seen 'im since the great war." 

"First great war? What?" Wheeljack was so incredibly confused by all of this, and Bulkhead wasn't helping. Both because him getting increasingly closer to him was throwing him off and the green God wasn't slowing down his description of anything. 

Bulkhead let out a chuckle and Wheeljack's spark dropped in its chamber. "They really don't teach you anything in schools then, huh?" Bulkhead shook his helm and stroked it up and down one of the critter's backs. 

There was silence between them as Bulkhead looked up and their optics met, the familiar feeling of _needing_ to touch the mech in front of them almost overwhelming. Wheeljack could almost hear the gears underneath his plating creaking and shifting as he forced himself not to reach out towards him. 

Wheeljack settled for opening his mouth instead when it was obvious that Bulkhead wasn't going to. "I'm not leaving." 

Bulkhead tilted his head in confusion and his mouth dropped open a little. "And why not?" 

"Well, partly because I _can't_ , I don't have a ship -" 

"I can build you one." 

"No, just, _let me talk_." Wheeljack pleaded and Bulkhead shrugged but let Wheeljack continue. "I want to get to know you." 

Bulkhead blinked. "Why?" 

Wheeljack scoffed. "Honestly, I don't know." Wheeljack scratched the back of his neck and looked away. "But I can't leave, that's what I do know." 

One of the critters gave a cooing sound, and Bulkhead smacked it on the back. 

"Bulkhead, I get you don't want to fall in love because of some stupid prophecy, and neither do I. But I want to know _you_." Wheeljack said, taking a step closer. Bulkhead didn't step back, but his optics widened in surprise. 

Bulkhead's smirk returned and he let out a small chuckle. "Didn't take you for the sentimental type." Wheeljack's gaze fell for a moment and he went quiet. 

"I don't think I'm the kind of person you want to get to know." Bulkhead continued sadly, whispering. 

Bulkhead looked up took another step closer, and it took ever ounce of self restraint Wheeljack had not to wrap his arms around Bulkhead's and hold him close, wrap his lips around Bulkhead's. 

Before he could think properly, Bulkhead had leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Wheeljack's forehead. He refused to find Wheeljack's stunned expression adorable as he pulled away, fighting to keep a smirk off his own face. 

"What was that for?" 

"Honestly, I don't know. Couldn't help myself." Bulkhead replied, the smile on both his face and shining in his eyes. 

"Then why don't you come back for more?" Wheeljack countered, his gaze shifting from Bulkhead lips, then back up to his optics. 

"I'll think about it." Bulkhead offered, but Wheeljack was the one smirking around as he turned around and walking away. 

"And you really should come back, or else I'll tell Miko about your little hide out." 

"You wouldn't!" Bulkhead called after him, and Wheeljack chuckled to himself. 

Bulkhead felt it the moment Wheeljack was out of the tunnel and back on the ground above him, and he let out a large exhale from his vents. He slumped slowly to the floor, and his most energetic critter, Yander, laid down behind him so he would have something to lay on. 

Bulkhead could ignore his critters chirping at him their opinions of Wheeljack, he could ignore the blush creeping onto his face plates, but he couldn't ignore the growing feeling of excitement collecting in his gut. 

_=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=_

Like every morning, Optimus woke to the precious sounds of Ratchet snoring beside him. 

Well, maybe the word to describe them wasn't _precious_. 

Optimus lifted his pillow over his helm to try and dampen the noise, but somehow that only made it louder. Usually, part of Optimus's nightly routine was to turn off his audio receptors so he wouldn't wake up to Ratchet's snoring, but last night he had been…preoccupied. He removed the pillow from his helm and rolled over, wrapping one large arm over Ratchet's middle. 

"Ratchet, sweet heart," Optimus whispered in his husband's audio receptor. "you know I love you very much, but your snoring is too loud this early in the morning." 

"If you have a problem with my snoring, you can go sleep with Bumblebee or Smokescreen." Ratchet grumbled and shifted a little, but his optics stayed closed. "It's later than you usually wake up." 

Optimus chuckled and placed a delicate kiss on Ratchet's neck, taking a quick nip at the sensitive cables there. "I was kept up a little later than normal. Don't you recall?" 

Ratchet let out a humored sound, placing his arm over Optimus's and tightening it against him. His aft pressed a little closer to Optimus's front, and Ratchet allowed himself to smile. "I don't think I do," Ratchet turned over then, opening his optics so he was looking up at the God. "Care to remind me?" 

Optimus indulged Ratchet for a moment, bringing their lips together in a heated kiss. Optimus's servos stayed on Ratchet's hips as the shorter mech sat up in their berth, Optimus following suit. Once they were all the way seated they broke apart the kiss. 

"I know you can't stay," Ratchet gave Optimus a kiss on the forehead before the God could get a word in. "Ultra Magnus will come to interrupt soon if we do not get up." 

Optimus responded by materializing a full breakfast tray, complete with pancakes, bacon bits, syrup, a small fruit salad, and a small amount of wine in a little glass. Ratchet reciprocated by forming an apple for his husband, since trying to get Optimus to eat anything for breakfast was a challenge Ratchet wasn't in the mood for. Optimus smiled and took a bite. 

"You'll let me know if you find Bulkhead? He never showed up for dinner last night. It's really taking a toll on Miko and the others." Ratchet added, nervousness leaking into his tone, "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about him." 

Optimus slowly rose from their berth and stretched a little. His side of the berth automatically made itself, the fluffy blankets and pillows returning to the way they had been before their nights' rest. 

"We are all worried, Ratchet. But you and I both know that Bulkhead is fully capable of taking care of himself." Optimus reasoned, beginning to walk towards the exit of their temple. Well, Optimus's temple; Ratchet just slept there every night. "It is also not the first time he's run away for an extended period of time." 

Ratchet sighed as Optimus reached out for his servo. "I know, but it _is_ the first time he's run away when the tensions with the Titans are this high. No doubt they know that Wheeljack carries Bulkhead's imprint; an easy way to prevent the prophecy from happening would be to terminate Bulkhead himself." 

Optimus squeezed Ratchet's digits a little harder. He didn't quite have the words that would make everything okay, and he wouldn't until Bulkhead came home. So instead, he leaned down and pressed a chaste kiss to Ratchet's lips. 

"I will tell you if I find him, dear." Optimus promised, and Ratchet nodded thankfully. "Enjoy your breakfast. I will see you later." 

Ratchet smiled as Optimus walked out of the temple, and the God returned his attention to his breakfast. 

Optimus did have a point, Bulkhead had run away before. 

Sometimes, he and Miko would get the crazy idea to sneak out and fly around the planet, and they'd stay away from the village for a couple hours or so to live like 'cavemen'. 

They always came back in time for dinner. 

On different occasions, Bulkhead would run off on his own for different reasons, usually relating to a heated conversation with Breakdown after a wrestling match when he came visit or Fowler when the small Village Leader tried to tell him he'd been brash to some of the villagers. 

But Bulkhead always come back. Always. 

But Ratchet also had a point: tensions had never been this high when Bulkhead ran away. And while the Earth God was more than capable of taking care of himself, even he couldn't hold off the entirety of the Titan army if they tried to kill him. 

Ratchet could only hope that Bulkhead enough common sense to hide himself from prying optics until he finally decided to come home. 

Ratchet shook his helm and sighed. What was he thinking? Bulkhead would be fine, he'd survived years of wars and he was one of the strongest mechs Ratchet knew, powers or not. 

Ratchet snapped his fingers and a book flew off the bookshelf on the far wall, opening up automatically to where Ratchet had placed the bookmark from last time. A pair of glasses fell down on his nasal ridge, and Ratchet sighed contently as he began to read his story and eat his breakfast Optimus had made for him. 

_=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=_

Shockwave paused, taking a quick moment to evaluate his work. There wasn't much left to do, and he had been working without pause the past few days so he could leave for Valeran with his new specimen in tow, to make Megatron proud of him. 

His creation was days away now from being able to be released from its cryogenic state, it only needed a few last additions to its DNA. Shockwave also needed a way to inject a power into it, a power that was entirely his own. 

If anyone could figure out how to do it, it was Shockwave. 

Shockwave didn't even need to turn around to know who was behind him. He recognized the voice the moment it said its first word. 

"It does my spark good that you're still playing with the laws of nature, Shockwave dear." 

"Obscurity," Shockwave muttered. "I must be dreaming then." 

There was a cold hand on his shoulder, and Shockwave fought the urge to pull away. He would not allow this wretch to see his panic or anger. 

"You are. You fell asleep while working, you're so committed to the cause and yet you get almost no recognition for it." 

Obscurity danced around him until she was sitting on the counter top next to Shockwave's left servo, reaching down to intertwine their digits. 

Shockwave pulled away after a moment - a moment too long. Obscurity only needed a moment to corrupt a mind, even in a dream - and took a few steps back. He reeled his emotions in quickly, determined to not let her read him. 

"I do not need recognition. It defeats the purpose of trying for anything if you're only doing it for selfish gain. It is illogical to work for the praise of others." Shockwave replied coolly. Obscurity didn't seem surprised by his answer, her legs swimming from where they hung off the counter. 

"You were always so wise." 

"You were always so annoying." 

Obscurity placed a hand over his chest, a look of faked hurt coming to it. "Shockwave, my darling, whatever have I done to you?" 

Shockwave didn't answer verbally, his one eye glaring into hers. 

Obscurity chuckled, the hand dropping from her chest and falling back to her lap. "I mean other than killing a few of your best friends? You really haven't been the same since then, always so stoic and trapping yourself in your lab." 

Shockwave's antenna twitched, a betrayal of what he was really feeling. 

Shockwave hadn't always worked alone; he had two partners whom he had worked with during the Great War. Together, they'd built magnificent machines and advancements to the God's cause. But in the end, it hadn't been enough. His partners had been captured and killed quickly when Megatron hadn't met the deadline in time. 

\It had taken him years - longer than he'd like to admit - to get over the death of his partners. He had tried so hard not to blame Megatron; it was illogical to do that, the Titans had sent the deadline for a _long_ list of requirements with only a few hours to meet it, and Megatron had tried his best. Still, Shockwave avoided his fellow God for a long time. 

If he was being honest with himself, it was one of the reasons Shockwave jumped on the chance to leave and go out on his own planet. 

Besides bringing up feelings of mutiny, the deaths of his partners was one of the few and only times Shockwave had been _any_ sort of emotions. 

But he didn't feel like bringing up memories of the past. Not today. 

"What do you want, Obscurity?" Shockwave asked, his voice as monotonous as ever. "If you came here to torment me, I wish you would make your point and leave." 

Obscurity's mouth set in a hard line. She looked around the lab, watching a few machines do their tasks or fires burn under beakers. Her optics fell on Shockwave after a few agonizing moments. 

"You've got a nice lab here, Shockwave. On Nova, right?" 

Shockwave moved to answer, but Obscurity held up a finger. "Don't answer, I already know. Don't ask why, my inside man has already told me everything, except what you're making here. They can't figure it out, and you won't tell them, given how paranoid you are." 

Shockwave's antenna twitched again. 

"But if I'm in your brain now, what does that mean?" Obscurity seemed to be looking into Shockwave's very soul, a small smirk resting on her lips as she waited. 

Anger and shock settled in Shockwave's stomach, a terrible conversation. "You're close. You're almost here." 

Obscurity nodded. "And if I'm close to you, what does that mean? Who is close to you?" 

Shockwave took a step back, alarm settling in his gut. "You're almost to Valeran." He forced himself to stand straight again, playing the step back as nothing more than a natural reaction instead of horrible realization. 

Obscurity stood up and chuckled, an evil and awful noise that made Shockwave want nothing more than the shut her down. "This is my warning to you, Shockwave. You now have time to repair, and something to report to your precious God friends. We're close, my brothers and sisters and I. And we intend to destroy you all the moment we find you." 

Shockwave decided to play a bluff. "We now have the mech of the prophecy. He has become fully realized, and he is more than prepared to destroy you when you arrive to Valeran." 

A look of fear crossed her face, and the smirk was replaced by a scowl. "You're lying." 

"I never lie. It is illogical." Shockwave met her gaze. 

"We would know if he is fully realized." 

"You would know if he allowed you to know it, to feel his power. But he is too powerful for you, he can hide what he knows." 

Obscurity snarled, the power surrounding her hands extending a little, posed for battle. 

Shockwave drew himself back into a guarding stance, ready. 

"Leave my mind, Obscurity. You are not welcome here." Shockwave demanded. 

Obscurity hesitated for a moment before she drew herself to her full height. Shockwave relaxed as well, but he was still prepared in case she tried to pull something. 

She walked towards Shockwave and placed a hand on Shockwave's cheek, and Shockwave pulled away once again. 

"Until we meet again." Obscurity smiled. "I do look forward to it." 

Obscurity turned and walked away, snapping her fingers as she walked. 

Shockwave's world turned upside down, twisting and turning for what felt like hours before his feet landed hard against the stone cold floor of his lab. 

His _real_ lab. 

Shockwave gripped the edge of his lab table, taking a moment to steady himself. He looked to his right, where the large cylinder with his newest creation was placed. 

_Don't ask why, my inside man has already told me_. 

Shockwave stopped, his spark sinking in his chest. 

_There was a traitor in their midst._

Shockwave's arrival to Valeran could not be delayed anymore. He needed to warn the others, and fast. 

Shockwave straightened and began to quickly exit his lab, intent on informing Beth that he would be leaving to warn the others. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Go Shockwave go!! 
> 
> Wheeljack and Bulkhead finally making some progress, as a treat ;)
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!! Stay safe!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody!! 
> 
> Welcome back!! Another week another chapter. I just wanna give a heads up that updates on this worm might get a little slower, not because I've lost interest or anything but just because I'm so busy these days and can barely find the time to sit down and write three sentences. (Now that I've said this my entire schedule will clear up but I just wanted to warn you guys if there's not a chapter next week Sunday) 
> 
> Thank you guys so much for all the support on this fic!! It really means the world to me and so much more and it always inspires me to work a little harder to give you guys the best possible work I can. 
> 
> I hope you guys are all staying happy, healthy and safe!! Enjoy!

Wheeljack always slept alone. He'd gotten used to that fact a long time ago. It came hand in hand with the 'never being in serious relationships' thing. 

Whenever he was on the Jackhammer on trips, he slept alone. Whenever he was on the planet and needed to stay the night, he would request to sleep alone. 

Easier that way, less messy. 

Sometimes when he was home, he would have some of his friends over after a night out and he'd somehow get stuck in the same bed as them, but that was both a friendship and an accident. Other times, he would have one night stands in between his travels, sometimes for better others for worse, but those mechs would usually leave and not spend the night. 

So when Wheeljack shifted slightly in his berth and felt the mattress sink a little less than what he was used to, he knew without opening his optics that there was someone in his bed. 

Wheeljack sprang off the berth, one servo shifting to a blaster and charging up, aimed at whoever was sleeping next to him. He didn't drop his blaster when he saw who it was. 

Bulkhead was sitting on his temporary berth, the covers draped over his lower half. There was a peach in one servo which had a few bites missing from it. He looked at Wheeljack out of the corner of his optic before he looked back down at what he was reading. 

"Good morning to you too, then." Bulkhead muttered, taking another bite of his peach. His tone was conversational and open, but Wheeljack could almost sense the awkwardness there. This was obviously something new for Bulkhead too.

But he was _trying_. 

"What are you doing here?" Wheeljack asked, still not shifting his blaster back into a servo. It had taken him a moment than he'd like to admit that Bulkhead was in his room, in the village, after being missing for several long days without anyone knowing if he was alive or dead. "This isn't even yer temple." 

Bulkhead looked up from his book and gave him a small glare. He lifted his servo and snapped his digits, and Wheeljack found his blaster shifting back into his servo without his consent. "Hey!" 

"Sorry," He wasn't. "hard to talk to you when you got a blaster in my face." 

Wheeljack sighed but didn't move. He looked Bulkhead up and down, observing his posture. Bulkhead was trying to come off as nonchalant and relaxed, but there was a clear sense of awkwardness in his movements. The book and fruit in his hand were there so he would have something to do with his servos so he wouldn't just be sitting there and doing nothing. 

"Whatchu reading?" Wheeljack asked, assuming it would be a book that he'd brought from his own temple. 

"One of my journals from a while back. I write sometimes to help get any thoughts out of my head on paper. Some of these are memories, others just daily updates about my life. I haven't written in a while, so I'm just catching up." 

Wheeljack nodded, a little zoned out, trying to keep his intentions off his face. He looked back up at Bulkhead and waited until their optics met before he reached forward and grabbed the journal in the blink of an optic. 

"Wheeljack! How could you-" Bulkhead demanded, his optics narrowing and his jaw tensing as he glared down Wheeljack. Well, he tried to glare him down at least. 

Wheeljack snickered. "You'll find I'm very quick with my hands." 

"Give that back!" Bulkhead cried out, trying to reach across the berth and grab it out of Wheeljack's servos. The white Bot laughed and pulled his arm out of reach, hoping off the berth. "Why you little…" 

Wheeljack and Bulkhead spent the next several minutes running around the temple like a bunch of sparklings, Bulkhead calling after Wheeljack as the mech continued to loudly read all of Bulkhead's personal notes. 

"Dear Diary, today the other Gods came onto Valeran, even Shockwave and Airachnid," Wheeljack took an extra moment to pronounce their names, swerving to avoid Bulkhead's servo as he tried to strike him down. "and I almost forgot how much I hate it when Airachnid opens her mouth!" 

Wheeljack stumbled a little as Bulkhead was suddenly in front of him, and he quickly began to back pedal the other way. "Thankfully Miko doesn't know how to keep her mouth shut, so I didn't even have to say anything!" 

"Shut up! Give that back!" Bulkhead hollered as he managed to leap forward and wrap his arms around Wheeljack. The mech, caught off guard, was pushed down onto the floor, Bulkhead on top of him. 

Bulkhead let out a shaky cry as he almost fell completely on top of Wheeljack, but the green Bot managed to stick his servos out on either side of Wheeljack's face, preventing him from fully crushing him. 

Wheeljack shifted slightly and their plating - most noticeably their interface panels - brushed up against each other, and both of the mechs went silent, the only sound in the temple was the sound of their shaky breaths. 

Bulkhead found himself unable to look away from the mech beneath him, and it seemed he wasn't alone. Wheeljack stared back at him, the remnants of a smirk on his face as he continued to pant from that little morning run. His arms were sprawled out, one over his stomach that still held Bulkhead's notebook, and the other was laid out above his helm, palm facing up. 

How desperately he wanted Bulkhead's hand in his own. 

Bulkhead drank in the scene under him, staring into Wheeljack's optics before his own eyes traveled down his body. He saw his journal in Wheeljack's grasp, but he still couldn't bring himself to tear it away just yet. 

The seconds dragged by, the two of them panting and breathing heavily, staring at each other's bodies or looking into the other's optics. 

Wheeljack was the one to break through their daze, clearing his throat and shimmying out from under Bulkhead. Bulkhead followed suit, standing up and shaking off the small traces of dust from his plating. 

When he looked up, he saw Wheeljack was holding out his notebook to him. Bulkhead took it back and muttered a thank you. 

"So," Wheeljack said after he moved and sat down on the berth. "why are you really here?" 

Bulkhead huffed and walked over to sit on the berth as well. He sat a little bit behind Wheeljack, and brought up both his legs so he was sitting cross legged. Wheeljack shifted to see him better.

"I'm here to talk." Bulkhead said, and Wheeljack tilted his helm in confusion. 

"Never pegged you for a liar." 

"I am not!" Bulkhead replied, laughing a little. He cleared his throat. "About what you said, Jackie; you're right. I don't want to fall in love because some stupid prophecy told me so. I hate that of all Bots, _I'm_ the one who gets picked to have some fairy tale ending after the _nothing_ I've done to earn it." Bulkhead paused and looked down at his fingers. 

"But I meant what I said," Bulkhead lifted up a servo and Wheeljack watched as a little ball of earth danced its way between his fingertips. "I'm not really the kind of person you really want to know." 

Wheeljack allowed a smile to come to his face. "And you think I am? I'm not a looker myself, in personality or appearance." 

"You have a great personality, once you get past the fact that you steal my stuff and try and read through it without my permission." Wheeljack rolled his optics. "And you're very handsome, and don't let anyone tell you different." He flattened out his servo into a palm and blew the earth ball at Wheeljack, but it only tickled his face before it vanished. 

Wheeljack allowed himself to chuckle. "So you think I'm handsome?" Bulkhead pushed his shoulder and there was a brief, all too quick moment where their laughter danced together in the room. 

Before the silence took over the room completely, Bulkhead filled it. "Let's make a promise, Jackie." 

"Jackie?" Wheeljack echoed, caught off guard by the nickname. 

"Well, yeah." Bulkhead replied, taking in Wheeljack's confused look. "You need a nickname from me, don't you?" Wheeljack nodded and Bulkhead continued. 

"I promise to get to know you, the real you, and help you figure out your powers, but you have to promise not to leave." Bulkhead said, holding out his hand for Wheeljack to shake on it. 

Wheeljack tilted his helm. It wasn't a hard promise, and if Bulkhead was determined to get to know him sacrificing a little bit of his time wasn't all too difficult. 

Wheeljack captured Bulkhead's hand in his and shook on it. 

Bulkhead's optics gleamed and their servos remained another moment before they pulled away before the heat could get to their cheeks.

Bulkhead patted his thighs and looked up to Wheeljack. "Your turn," He invited, but it was also an opening for him to take as long as he needed. 

"Are you sure you still want to give this a go?" Wheeljack asked, scooting a little closer. "I could still have someone build me a ship, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to get rid of me after you figure some stuff out about me." 

Bulkhead didn't hesitate. "I'm sure. I don't shake easy." 

"I got that from your notes," Wheeljack smirked widely. "tell me about your favorite place in the world, or maybe your favorite star consolation. Anything dirty dirty secrets you got for me?" 

Bulkhead laughed, but there was a pondering look in his optics as he considered the questions Wheeljack had offered as ice breakers. He rose from the berth and began to make his way towards the exit, looking over his shoulder for Wheeljack to follow. 

Wheeljack sprang up and caught up with the taller green mech, and almost fell over his own feet as a cup of coffee suddenly appeared in his right servo, and a small danish appearing in the left. He smiled up at Bulkhead, whose optics were glittering in the morning sunlight. 

Yes, that's why Bulkhead's optics were glowing, not because of the joyous look on Wheeljack's face made him feel proud and happy on the inside. 

They walked down the stairs together, their plating accidentally brushing against each other's.

"So, which question do you want me to answer first?" 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"I think that one's an elephant." 

Bumblebee tilted his head a little, following the path Smokescreen's finger made with the sky and found the cloud the silver God was talking about. 

This particular cloud, like most of the ones around it, was oddly shaped and really could be labeled as everything, but there was a longer end on one side with two large circles next to it, almost looking like the trunk and ears of an elephant. 

Elephants were Bumblebee's second favorite animal, after the bumblebee itself of course. 

Bumblebee hummed his agreement as Smokescreen dropped his arm, his digits on his opposite servo wrapping a little tighter around Bumblebee's own. 

This was the first time in a long time the two of them had any time relax and not think about the impending danger or risks that came along with Bulkhead and Wheeljack being reunited in town at the moment. 

Smokescreen had been occupied the past couple days trying to find Bulkhead before he mysteriously turned up last night with little to no explanation, just that he wanted to come back then. When he wasn't searching for Bulkhead, he was either eating, sleeping, or training with Ultra Magnus, who took no off days and made everyone try their hardest at all times. 

It was beneficial, sure, but Pit-awful. 

Bumblebee, on the other hand, was preoccupied with Soundwave more often than not trying to find new visions to unlock or working to decode the meaning behind some of his other visions. He hadn't received a vision since before Wheeljack arrived, but Soundwave had hinted to him that he was closing in on something that didn't require Bumblebee's assistance; he could do it alone. 

So Smokescreen and Bumblebee were taking advantage of this all too brief free time, looking at the cloud shapes above them on a little hill, a picnic basket laid out beside them for a little lunch. 

::That one could be a pumpkin:: Bumblebee pointed to a mostly round cloud that had a small stub at the top of it, looking strongly like a pumpkin indeed. 

"Or maybe it's an upside down lollipop." Smokescreen mused, laughing at the annoyed look on Bumblebee's face places. It was Smokescreen's favorite game to come up with a different option for Bumblebee's cloud ideas. 

Bumblebee rolled his optics and tried to find the elephant Smokescreen had pointed out. ::Well, maybe your elephant was actually a clown:: 

"Ew, don't ruin it, Bee:: Smokescreen laughed again, pulling Bumblebee in closer and kissing his forehead. 

They were silent for a few minutes after that, Smokescreen's spark beat soft against Bumblebee's head. He sighed in contentment, trying to look up and look at Smokescreen, but he couldn't see his face from this angle. 

::Smokes:: Bumblebee sighed, rolling his optics. ::I just want you to know that I love you. A lot. And I know we promise to never get sappy or anything for each other but I just need you to hear it in case…ya know…with everything going on I just wanna say it:: 

Smokescreen didn't say anything to disrupt him, so Bumblebee kept going. 

::You are my reason to fight. Literally. After I lost my voice to the Titans, and after Elita-1 died, I really had no one to look up to or fight for, and after Skyquake gave up his life for me I wondered if I really belonged anymore, or if it should have been me who…: Bumblebee trailed off, hoping that was getting the point across as to what he meant. 

::But then on the trip here, you were there to comfort me, throughout my nights when I couldn't sleep or when I needed a laugh or eat a meal, you were there. So, thank you. I really mean that:: Bumblebee sucked in a breath. ::I love you, Smokey:: 

Bumblebee waited, sucking in a breath and exhaling slowly as he finished his piece. He waited for Smokescreen to react, to tickle him and call him a sap or anything like that. 

Instead, Smokescreen let out a loud _snore_. 

Bumblebee scoffed and resisted the urge to slap his boyfriend across the face, and settled for cuddling closer into Smokescreen's chest. 

At least now Smokescreen couldn't bully him for that for as long as they lived. 

Bumblebee gave one last look up to the clouds before he offlined his optics and fell into recharge alongside his boyfriend.

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Megatron placed his servos palm down on the table, leaning forward slightly as he analyzed the picture before him. 

It was an image Soundwave had managed to capture with his trusty creation Lazerbeak, of Wheeljack floating up in the air with fire engulfing him in its orange and yellow heat. Even through the monstrous flames, Megatron could see his optics glowing a bright color, the rage obvious on his face. 

"He has promise," Megatron thought aloud, bringing his hands back behind his back as the picture zoomed out a little. More visuals of Wheeljack's power came on the screen, orbs of fire bursting out of the cocoon that was Wheeljack and flying down towards what Megatron had to assume was MECH.

"Sloppy."

Megatron didn't turn as he recognized Starscream's voice, but allowed the shorter God to walk up beside him. 

Starscream's pose mimicked Megatron's, his back straight and servos clasped behind his back. His optics were pondering and Megatron could practically see the gears in his mind racing as he too analyzed the image before him. 

"His technique is poor and his aim is pitiful, hitting the target but mostly by luck alone. If you zoom out a little you can see all the targets he missed instead of hit by the scorched earth." Starscream elaborated. 

Megatron hummed his agreement. "He has never had the need to use his powers in this large of a capacity, I can only assume. He has been surrounded by people lesser than he, who have not allowed him to present his powers fully." 

Starscream smirked, his optics glistening against the light of the screen. "It has been quite some time since we've had to analyze fighting patterns, Megatron." 

Megatron spared him a quick glance before turning and looking back at the screen, letting it play out for a few more moments. Wheeljack's fire began to die after a few stray blasts reabsorbed into his armor, before his power completely faded and he fell to the ground. 

"Complaining, are we?" 

"Observing." Starscream shrugged. "I admit, he needs a lot of work, but his raw talent is unmatched. I am willing to wager he'd last against you by pure spite. Maybe even beat you." 

"Few have more spite than you, Starscream." Megatron countered, his tone light and conversational. "Maybe you should fight him first." 

"And lighten him up for you? Absolutely not. You will not get any easy way out at my expense." 

"Soundwave, then." 

Starscream gave him a shocked glance. "You would subject him to Soundwave so soon?"

Megatron was the one who shrugged. He played back the recording to when Wheeljack was still in the air, fire swarming around him like insects and he countered the brightness of the sun. "Would Soundwave be able to alter his reality?" 

Starscream rolled his optics. "Could he alter yours?" 

Megatron accepted defeat as there was a knock at the door. Both Gods turned and looked, slightly surprised to see Cliffjumper standing in the doorway. His red plating was shining the in the sun and his horns glittered as well, casting a silver reflection on the wall. 

"I heard some bickering and wanted to join in. What's up?" Cliffjumper didn't wait for an invitation to come closer, walking closer and looking closely at the image of Wheeljack on the screen. "Yeah, that was crazy. Never seen anything like that, even from us fully realized folk." 

"It makes me wonder what he's capable of when he's fully realized as well." Megatron pondered, and Cliffjumper nodded his agreement. 

"I can't copy his abilities either. I tried, ya know. But something was blocking me." Cliffjumper sighed dramatically and Starscream snickered. "No amazing fire powers for me." 

Megatron allowed a smile to creep onto his face. "And where is our precious Wheeljack now?" 

"Last I heard he and Bulkhead were out 'getting to know each other better' or somethin'." Cliffjumper used air quotes to emphasize. "They walked out of Bulkhead's temple together this mornin' lookin' at each other when the other wasn't looking like they were all the gold on Cybertron." 

Starscream gagged exaggeratedly. "If Soundwave looks at me like that I slap him. That's the honeymoon phase, and I find it repulsive." 

"I wasn't aware that Bulkhead returned." Megatron added, ignoring Starscream's antics. 

Cliffjumper nodded. "He came in late last night and basically went right to his temple to crash. Only talked 'nough to us to say he was back and he was tired, but the point he's back." 

Megatron nodded, humming. "Thank Primus for that." 

"Ah, speaking of your lover, Starscream." 

Megatron turned and was surprised again to see Soundwave walking towards them, his movements silent and controlled as always. 

The God approached Starscream first, reaching out and taking his sparkmate's slender hand in his own. There was a small smile on Starscream's face, and Cliffjumper smirked to himself as he saw Starscream's optics light up, as of he was looking at all the gold on Cybertron. 

"Soundwave, what is the meaning behind your visit?" Megatron asked, and Soundwave immediently redirected his attention to him. 

"A development has been made…" Airachnid's voice. "With the whereabouts of the Titans." Optimus's deeper one. 

Megatron, for the third time, was surprised. He knew Bumblebee and Soundwave had been devoting quite a bit of time towards the process of obtaining new visions or just any concrete facts on the Titan whereabouts, but he also knew that there had been little success. 

"Well let's hear it!" Cliffjumper exclaimed, recovering first. 

Soundwave's visor lit up, a single green line for a communication link. Megatron tilted his head, eager to hear this transmission. 

"Megatron, it is Shockwave." 

Megatron was getting real sick of these surprises, but this one did his spark good. 

"Is it live?" Megatron asked, and a single shake of the head from Soundwave confirmed his answer. 

"Obscurity herself has reached out to me. Which means she is in range of Nova. I would estimate she is about ten days away from Nova, and likely about twenty from Valeran. I do not believe it to be safe here anymore. I am leaving the planet soon, with Beth and a few villagers with me." 

There was a sharp pause, like Shockwave was hesitating. 

"There is more grave news, I am disheartened to report. Obscurity told me there is a traitor among us." 

Megatron reared back, his optics ablaze and his spark pounding in fury. Starscream exhaled a sharp breath, his optics equally full of anger. Cliffjumper's fists clenched and he began swearing under his breath, flipping between their native language and several others they'd picked up on. 

Megatron exhaled slowly, forcing himself to keep his cool. "When did you receive this message?" 

Soundwave searched for a video clip. "Five minutes is too long." Knock Out's voice. Megatron recognized the tone for Knock Out's argument against a training session. 

Megatron sighed. "We must warn everyone else." 

"Should I gather everyone together in the main temple?" Starscream asked, taking a step back to transform and fly out. 

"Not yet. We'll talk to Optimus and inform him so he can collect himself for the others." Megatron determined. Cliffjumper raised a hand to stop Soundwave and Starscream before they left. 

"Maybe not Wheeljack and Bulkhead. Optimus didn't want to bombard Wheels with too much at once. And if he's with Bulk, that's better for him now." 

"For now. I don't care if Optimus requested it, but eventually, Wheeljack's bubble will have to be broken." Starscream looked back to the screen, which still showed an image of Wheeljack's unleashed power. "For all our sake's." 

They all quickly exited the temple, one after the other, splitting off into separate directions to spread the word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little Smokebee content for y'all :) 
> 
> Yay! Bulkhead's back and now he and Jackie might finally be making some moves ;) 
> 
> See you next time!! Hope you guys enjoyed.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! 
> 
> This week has been kinda rough, but despite what I originally planned I managed to get this chapter out on time :) Corona's really beating my butt right now, but I've been taking it easy and taking slow steps towards recovery, no worries here. 
> 
> Hope you guys had an amazing Thanksgiving and are staying happy, healthy and safe! 
> 
> Enjoy!!

It had started out as a simple request for food (less of a request and more like Wheeljack's stomach loudly grumbled and he realized he hadn't eaten in a while). Wheeljack had then attempted to solve the problem and asked for Bulkhead to snap food for them out of thin air, but Bulkhead insisted they make something together, have a bonding moment out of it. 

And then somehow the inside of Bulkhead's temple had gotten coated with flour, and neither of them were quite sure how that happened. 

Turns out, neither of them were that good at _actually_ cooking things. Bulkhead never had to, he could think of the most perfect dish and it would appear, and Wheeljack usually had microwave meals or the venues on his way to work. 

Regardless, they were trying to make Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes anyway. 

"Okay, it says here we need to add - stop it! - we need to add a quarter cup of sugar. No wait, that's not it." Bulkhead groaned and slammed the book down on the counter. "Wheeljack! Stop throwing eggs at me!" 

"It's fun!" 

"And stop eating the dough! We need that for the second batch of cupcakes!" 

"You sound like the Doc." 

"Would that make you listen to me?" 

"It'd make me listen to ya less." 

"I don't think that's possible." 

"Alright, alright." Wheeljack walked over and sat up on the counter, ignoring as Bulkhead protested he needed that space. Wheeljack snatched the cookbook out of his hands and began reading through it, squinting as he read the ingredients. "This's complicated." 

"No one said this would be easy, Jackie," 

Bulkhead didn't miss the small amount of blue that came to Wheeljack's face, but the mech coughed and put down the book.

"I still think that you just make the frosting yourself; much easier." Wheeljack gestured aimlessly to the flour covered temple. "Much less of a mess too."

"If I can spontaneously create frosting, I think I can clean my temple just as easily. We're gonna finish this, the _natural_ way." 

Wheeljack gave a massive pout, and Bulkhead rolled his optics.

Wheeljack and Bulkhead shared a laugh then, Wheeljack's servo landing on Bulkhead's shoulder. Bulkhead felt his face plates heating at the touch, and the voice came back to life in his head. 

_Kiss him, kiss him!_ The voice demanded, not for the first time. _Make him yours!_

Wheeljack shook the thought away, but he noticed Wheeljack had zoned out a little. 

"Bulk?" Wheeljack asked, reaching up and shaking Wheeljack's shoulder. "Bulkhead?" 

Bulkhead snapped back to attention and focused on Wheeljack with a smile. "Sorry, Bee's tryna reach me again." 

"What about?" 

"Not sure," Bulkhead shrugged. "I keep ignorin' his calls and he never says what's wrong, so I assume it's not that important." 

Wheeljack tilted his helm. "Bulk, it could be very important," The white mech insisted, and Bulkhead lifted a finger and the bowl of extra dough flew into his servos.

"I don't see the Titans wrecking havoc on the town, or MECH comin' in to try and start a losing battle," Bulkhead remarked. "besides, if it was really that important, they'd come get me." 

Wheeljack nodded; Bulkhead did have a point. He turned his attention back to the cookbook to work on the frosting. "Bumblebee's a good kid," Wheeljack said, changing the subject. 

Bulkhead nodded as he took another large spoonful of batter. "Yeah, he is. A fighter too." 

"How'd he lose his voice?" Wheeljack tried not to shutter as he got a phantom feeling of Bumblebee's strange voice filling his mind. It was creepy, but Wheeljack knew the kid had no other choice. 

"Titans. How else?" 

"Oh." 

"Yeah," There was a moment of silence as Wheeljack waited for Bulkhead to continue. 

"He was guarding secrets we needed, secrets the Titans wanted. They found him before we could." Bulkhead swallowed sharply. "We were able to save him, thankfully." 

"He's a tough kid." Wheeljack added comfortingly. 

There was a pause and Wheeljack looked back down at the baking materials, content to get started again before Bulkhead spoke. 

"Everyone has scars and memories they carry with them from the Titans." Bulkhead said softly, almost like he hadn't meant to. He tensed up in a way and his optics became distant, like he was recalling bad memories. 

Part of Wheeljack had wanted to ask Bulkhead what were his scars, but judging by the reaction Bulkhead was already giving, he decided against it. 

Wheeljack reached forward and shook Bulkhead's shoulder gently, his voice a hushed whisper. "Hey, Bulk. Look at me." 

Bulkhead's optics were still glassy, but he did look up at Wheeljack. 

"You," Wheeljack grabbed both his shoulders now. "are very strong. You're a fighter, you wouldn't be here if you weren't. And that's not to take away from those who died, rest in peace, but you _are alive_. You got your scars, you got the bad stuff. But you got your family. You got Miko. You got yerself. And I'd say that's pretty damn good." 

Bulkhead blinked, nodding slowly. Wheeljack's digits tensed a little on his shoulders, waiting for the larger mech to react, even minutely. 

"You're right," Bulkhead nodded, more firmly now. He looked at Wheeljack this time, _really_ looked at him, smiling a little. "you're right." 

Wheeljack smirked, letting out a subtle breath that his speech had worked. He really wasn't the best at dramatic speeches, but he apparently had done a decent job. 

Bulkhead - almost hesitantly - pulled away from Wheeljack, returning to the messy counter and ingredients. 

"Heh, speaking of Miko, you really should meet her properly." 

"Yeah? She seems…eccentric." 

"Oh, she is." Bulkhead smiled fondly, his usual warmness returning to his voice. He reached across Wheeljack and grabbed the half finished frosting before Wheeljack could stop him. 

These cupcakes weren't going to be good, maybe not even edible, but they had still done their job. Part of the awkwardness that had been following them around so far was starting to disappear into the air, leaving behind a new friendship Wheeljack honestly hadn't expected. 

"How'd you two get close?" 

"When we arrived, she was about this tall." Bulkhead lifted his hands and spaced them a little bit apart, forming the rough size to what Miko could have been. Wheeljack stared in surprise when it was about half of what he remembered Miko to be. "And she saw me and wouldn't leave me alone. Asking me all these questions and making her help me with her chores." 

Wheeljack grinned. "Aw, you're a sire." 

Bulkhead gently shoved him, but didn't deny it. 

They talked about many things after that as they worked on the last of the cupcakes. Wheeljack managed to convince Bulkhead to let him finish the frosting recipe before he put it on the cupcakes. The cupcakes were divided into thirds: the third burnt, third well done, and the third underdone cupcakes. 

About a half hour later, their pitiful creations were finished, and they clunked their respective cupcakes together as a fake toast before bringing the cupcake delight to their mouths. 

Wheeljack managed to swallow the first bite, his face in pure disgust the entire time before he threw the cupcake in the garbage. 

Bulkhead wasn't able to swallow the first bite, spitting it out in the same garbage Wheeljack threw away the disgusting thing they called a cupcake. 

"Oh Primus," Wheeljack groaned, trying to scrape the last bites of cupcake off his tongue. "those are _awful_." 

"I think we added basil instead of baking soda or something. How could we do that?" 

" _We_ didn't do anything, I was in charge of frosting." Wheeljack countered. 

"It tastes like dirt." 

Wheeljack nodded, equally disgusted. "Yeah, it definitely does." 

Bulkhead snapped his fingers and a cupcake landed in Wheeljack's servos, perfectly shaped. It tasted as good as it looked, and Wheeljack greatly enjoyed this one versus the last one. 

"We should give these to everyone, see if they'll say anythin' 'bout how bad they are." Wheeljack laughed, and Bulkhead joined in. 

"I think Optimus would eat the whole thing he'd feel bad." Bulkhead added, and Wheeljack laughed harder. 

They began to laugh so hard they needed to hold onto the other for support, their chests aching and coolant leaking from their optics as they struggled to catch their breath. 

As their laughing slowed, they both looked up towards each other, their optics meeting. Realization flowed slowly into their optics as they realized they were mere inches apart; the breath of the other hot on their faces. 

"I may not be a good cook," Bulkhead said quietly. "but I am good at other things." 

"Oh?" Wheeljack inquired. "Mind tellin' me what those things are?" 

"Well, I-" 

Their moment was interrupted by loud footsteps in the doorway, and they turned to see none other than Ultra Magnus walking towards them, an angry look on his face. 

He stood in front of them and put his hands on his hips, mouth set in a thin line. 

"Wheeljack, you were supposed to have started training hours ago. Bulkhead, you were supposed to escort him." Ultra Magnus declared, his tone serious and leaving no room for argument. "If we are to have any hope of being ready when the Titans arrive, you need to be ready as soon as possible, Wheeljack." 

Wheeljack scoffed and opened his mouth to retort, but Bulkhead defended him first. "Ultra Magnus, we were on our way to the training arena, but Jackie wanted some food before we got started and we got a little carried away, lost track of time." 

That was half true, actually, considering that they really hadn't been on their way to the training arena, Wheeljack didn't even know a training arena existed. 

Ultra Magnus wasn't convinced. "Regardless, you will train now, and you will train hard. As will you, Bulkhead. You need to be at the top of your game as well. If one of us is weak, we will loose." 

Wheeljack bristled then at the subtle attack on Bulkhead. While the blue God didn't _explicitly_ say anything degrading to Bulkhead, there was an edge to his voice that Wheeljack didn't like. He was likely referencing how Bulkhead had been missing for the last few days at Wheeljack's fault. 

"We'll get there when we get there. But I don't see you trainin' right now, chief." Wheeljack fired back. "Have I seen the Titans in action? Pit no. Have you told me how awful they are? Every second you can." 

"You don't understand, Wheeljack," Ultra Magnus let his hands fall from his hip as Wheeljack turned and walked a few paces away. 

"Here he goes," Wheeljack groaned, and Bulkhead shifted awkwardly from pede to pede, unsure of whether or not to step in. 

"The Titans can - and will - kill us all. We stand no chance against them anymore; we lost hundreds in our first fight against them and they have only grown stronger in their absence from fighting. _You_ are our only chance at besting them, with your new powers of fire." 

Wheeljack fell backwards onto the bed, covering his face in his servos. "And _I understand_ that they're dangerous and 'I'm the only one who can help you guys', but _Primus_ shoulder pads, we just took a break to make some cupcakes. We were gonna train eventually." 

Ultra Magnus resisted the urge to roll his optics. "You are as pathetic as a youngling. To be expected, considering you are technically a youngling." 

This time it was Bulkhead who stepped in. "Give him a break Ultra Magnus, Jackie is still gettin' used to everything around here, and I know Optimus told everyone to be calm and not talk about training and the Titans all the time." 

Ultra Magnus narrowed his optics then. "Jackie? And when have you talked to Optimus about Wheeljack?" 

"When I got back. He told me before I went back into my temple to keep Wheeljack focused away from training or talking about the Titans." Bulkhead explained, cringing as he noticed that Ultra Magnus knew they had lied. 

"So you two never intended to train him?" Ultra Magnus asked, anger in his tone. 

"Oh for Pit's sake, we'll train later if you just _leave us alone_!" Wheeljack shouted, his voice raised an octave and his optics wide with anger. 

Bulkhead's spark dropped in his chest as he saw Wheeljack was starting to loose himself in his power a little, his optics were glowing and there were sparks at his fingertips. His anger was directed at Ultra Magnus, his optics unblinking and unnerving. 

"Jackie, calm down, it's alright." Bulkhead tried to step in between them, but that only caused Wheeljack's anger to flare up even more. 

Wheeljack's now white optics turned to Bulkhead and something akin to a growl came out of his throat; a warning to Bulkhead to back up out of his way. 

The little voice in Bulkhead's mind demanded he step back, out of the way so his chosen one could do what he needed to do. 

Bulkhead cringed at his weakness, but he stepped backwards just the same. Wheeljack's gaze slowly drifted back to Ultra Magnus, his servos now lighting up with a small orange fire. 

"You're not the boss of me. I get that yer this all powerful guy, but you need to leave," Wheeljack threatened, standing up and walking a few paces in front of Ultra Magnus. The taller mech stood his ground, but Bulkhead could see the nervousness in his eyes. "before I do something you'll regret." 

Ultra Magnus's own optics were starting to glow now, and he dropped his right food back into a guarding stance. "Is that a threat?" 

"A promise." Wheeljack replied, his voice sounded distorted and too dark for his body. 

Water swirled around Ultra Magnus's servos now as he brought his power to life. Wheeljack's lips widened in a smirk, but it was so different than the smirks he had used towards Bulkhead after one of them cracked a joke or gave a snide comment. 

This was the smirk of someone who was going to rip someone apart.

"Wheeljack," Bulkhead said, trying to get his attention. "Jackie!" 

Wheeljack didn't turn and look at him, but the fire around his hands died a little. 

The temple was filling with their powers, their respective forces clashing in the air around them. It was sickening; Bulkhead wanted them to stop before their powers became choking. 

" _Ultra Magnus_." 

And just like that, both of their powers died, but not of their own accord. Wheeljack stumbled backwards and gasped as his fire was wiped away from his own body. The small white mech looked up towards Bulkhead then, his optics returning to their normal, handsome blue. 

Bulkhead realized Wheeljack was falling and he darted forward, catching the mech in his arms and pulling him close, while Ultra Magnus straightened and turned to the doorway, already knowing who he was going to see. 

Optimus and Ratchet were standing there, Optimus with one hand extended and Ratchet looking more disappointed than he'd been in a long time. Optimus allowed his servo to drop as Ultra Magnus approached him. 

They began to have a heated exchange of words then, but Bulkhead couldn't make all of them out. He kept his gaze trained down at Wheeljack, willing him to wake up soon. 

"Bulkhead," The green mech looked up and saw Ratchet kneeling beside him, Optimus standing a few paces behind. He looked past them both and saw Ultra Magnus flying away in his Predacon form, screeching as he went. "Care to explain what happened here?" 

Bulkhead did, starting with how he and Wheeljack were baking cupcakes and Ultra Magnus demanded how they go and train. He tried to share both sides of the story to give a clear picture to his fellow Gods so they wouldn't immediently side with one or the other, though he hoped that they would side with him and Wheeljack. 

Optimus sighed. "I should have told everyone that Wheeljack needed more time."

"We caught the tail end of his latest display. What was that about?" Ratchet asked, his hands glowing red as he leaned forward to see if Wheeljack needed any healing, internally or externally. 

"Not sure, actually. Jackie was fine, just arguing a bit with Magnus and then he just…snapped." Bulkhead explained. "His optics were glowing and I couldn't even get through to him. The Voice was telling me to let him do what he needed to do." 

"The Voice?" 

"Not sure what else to call it. It's this…extra thought in my mind that's always active around Wheeljack." 

Ratchet lifted Wheeljack's arm that held Bulkhead's scribbled handwriting. "That might have a connection to this as well. There's a lot about your connection that we really don't know." 

Bulkhead nodded, shifting a little and subconsciously pulling Wheeljack closer to him. "He was just…different. His voice sounded strange and I actually thought he was gonna hurt Magnus." 

Ratchet nodded, glancing up at Optimus. "It could be from just using his powers so much in a short amount of time like this. As much as I agree that Wheeljack needs time, this can't happen again. He needs to learn to control himself." 

"No," Bulkhead butted in. "Jackie's not ready. His powers are so new to him and he just needs time." 

" _Jackie_ doesn't have a choice. It's not about him anymore, Bulkhead. Wheeljack's powers are so foreign and new to as well. You said it yourself you couldn't reign him in; what if this happens in front of the villagers? In front of Miko?" 

Bulkhead opened his mouth, but no sound left his glossa. Ratchet had a point, he realized as he glanced down again at Wheeljack. Bulkhead would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to Miko because he was too afraid to push Wheeljack. 

Bulkhead sighed and lifted Wheeljack in his arms, rising to his feet. "Fine, fine. We can start training tomorrow." 

Optimus's shoulders relaxed minutely in relief, while Ratchet openly sighed with gratitude. 

Optimus stepped forward and placed a hand on Bulkhead's shoulder as he straightened from placing Wheeljack down on the berth. "Thank you, Bulkhead. You will be there the entire time to help him through this process, and I am sure he will be grateful to you for helping him." 

Bulkhead nodded, not looking up from Wheeljack's passed out form as Ratchet and Optimus showed themselves out. 

He knew making Wheeljack start his training now would likely pay off in the long run, but it still scared him to think about what could happen. Would the others take it easy on him? Would Wheeljack be unable to prove himself and be useless in their fight against the Titans?

Bulkhead tried not to think about it, sitting down beside the white mech and pulling out his journal from that morning, writing in the next entry on a fresh page. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

The dark storm clouds above gave a bright flash of lightning and distantly there was a loud crack of thunder a few moments later. The rain would be starting soon. 

Every third day after the past storm, Arcee would bring a rain storm to the planet Valeran, giving the crops and livestock the water they needed to continue to survive and prosper. Arcee had memorized which crops needed the most water and which needed the least, so she had already set her powers to follow her will a long time ago. 

It was one of Ultra Magnus's favorites times, when the rain came. 

The God was sitting in the field where Wheeljack had crashed several days ago. The rubble had been moved a while ago, but there were still some burn marks on the grass from where the spaceship had hit the ground and the earth was still scorched where Wheeljack had tapped into his powers, but besides those things, the field had returned to its normal, calm place. 

Ultra Magnus knew that Wheeljack hadn't purposely landed his ship in his favorite space outside of his temple, but he knew karma had an awful sense of humor. 

But the God preferred the clearing to be calm. Part of his nature was to be calm and reserved anyway

Ultra Magnus closed his optics, focusing his energy and waited for the rain to start. Whenever it rained he would sit in this field and try and bend the falling rain around him. If there was ever a normal storm that Arcee didn't bring to Valeran, the water could be bent easily. But since the rain came from Arcee's own powers, the water wasn't so easily tamed. 

But Ultra Magnus wasn't the kind of mech to give up. 

He felt the first few raindrops fall against his plating, falling quickly down his shoulders and arms like small waterfalls, and he could hear the relaxing pitter patter of the rain as it fell onto the leaves of the trees around him. 

He opened his optics and raised his servos, his digits scarcely moving. 

The raindrops in the clearing froze where they were, unable to move anymore. A few slipped from his control and hit the blades of grass like they'd intended, but Ultra Magnus had expected that. 

Good. Ultra Magnus had done this before. 

The next step was also relatively easy; Ultra Magnus focused a little harder as he moved his digits into a fist, and the water droplets followed. They all moved together until they were forming a large ball of water in front of Ultra Magnus's face plates, the orb of water circling still even as it was held in place. 

Step two, complete. 

Ultra Magnus closed his mouth in a thin line as he began step three. He had yet to complete it fully. 

Ultra Magnus's digits uncurled themselves from their fists and began molding around imaginary clay. The orb of water molded to the way his digits did, slowing forming a doll like figure in the familiar shape of a mecha. 

The bulb of water burst before Ultra Magnus could finish the helm fins. The rain restarted over him, pittering a little harder on his plating. 

Ultra Magnus grumbled but didn't yell as a feeling in his gut pushing him to finish the project even if it wasn't with Arcee's rain. Ultra Magnus's palms opened again and two small bursts of water came out, forming an orb of water quickly. The blue God was quick to mold the water into a small version of the mech with fire powers. 

Ultra Magnus blew a small breath of air to give life to the little ball of water, and the little water creature began to dance around on air. Ultra Magnus let a small smile come to his face as he watched the water figure dance around him, a large smile on its watery features. 

"You do love him, don't you?" 

Ultra Magnus's optics widened and he swiped a servo through his water creature, sending the remaining water droplets into the grass beneath him. The God turned around and relaxed minutely as he saw Dreadwing standing at the edge of the clearing, servos on his hips. 

Ultra Magnus scoffed. "Wheeljack is incredibly rude, arrogant, lazy. He has been so ever since he arrived." Ultra Magnus didn't stop the other God from walking over and sitting down beside him on the damp grass. 

"That's not what I asked." Dreadwing raised an optic ridge and a small smile rose on his lips. 

Ultra Magnus debated playing dumb, but they both knew that Dreadwing wasn't leaving until they talked about this. "Yes, I have." Ultra Magnus finally admitted. "From the very first time I saw him." 

Dreadwing reached across and gently padded Ultra Magnus on the shoulder, but Ultra Magnus kept his gaze trained across the field instead of on his fellow God. "I know this is hard for you, to have to come to terms with how Bulkhead is the God in the prophecy, the one who gets to fall in love." 

Ultra Magnus scoffed and said nothing at first, the rain the only sound to be heard. Dreadwing removed his servo from Ultra Magnus's shoulder and moved to stand. 

"Do you think…telling him would make any difference in the end?" Ultra Magnus asked, causing Dreadwing to pause. "Wheeljack was always the one in the prophecy who was meant to fall in love. I know that now, but I didn't know it then." 

Dreadwing sighed and sat back down beside him. "I think Primus has a sick sense of humor," Dreadwing paused. "I know it caused you immeasurable amounts of pain, not saying what you felt. But I also think it saved you even more heartbreak." 

Dreadwing leaned a little closer, allowing their plating to touch just a little; a sign he was there. Ultra Magnus looked up and out towards the horizon, a bleak look on his face. 

"Ultra Magnus, it is not worth it to dread over what could be, you need to focus on what is." Dreadwing spoke softly, an attempt to make the God hear him. "While Wheeljack may not be your soulmate, it is still important that you help him out in any way you can."

"I _tried that_ ," Ultra Magnus scoffed. "before I came out here. Bulkhead and Wheeljack had decided that making _cupcakes_ was more important than training Wheeljack. Wheeljack's powers went a little out of control and I almost had to utilize mine to stop him." 

"That was bound to happen, it's not your fault. If the fire within Wheeljack is tamed, and soon, it could spell more harm than good. That's not your fault." Dreadwing added again for good measure. "What stopped him then; Bulkhead?" 

Ultra Magnus shook his head. "Optimus shut down our powers before we could get too far. Bulkhead couldn't reach him." 

Dreadwing nodded with understanding. "I see." He moved to stand up, not looking if Ultra Magnus was doing the same. "Ultra Magnus, you know I respect you tremendously, but you cannot go down this path of blaming yourself, it will only end with you -" 

Dreadwing's words were stopped as two large servos landed on his hips, swiveling him around. In the blink of an optic the hands of Dreadwing's hips traveled up to his face, holding onto his cheeks in a tight yet loose hold. 

Ultra Magnus's lips fell down onto his own, tender and soft and just as surprised as Dreadwing was. 

Dreadwing remained as still as a board, his optics wide open and unable to kiss back in his shock. His spark was pounding in his chest and his mind was desperately trying to get him to turn tail and run, to transform and not look back. But something was holding him there; not Ultra Magnus's strong arms, because the taller mech was barely holding onto him at all. 

What felt like hours passed before Ultra Magnus pulled away, his hands fall back to his side as he realized Dreadwing had never kissed him back. There was an embarrassed look on his face and he turned and awkwardly began to walk away. 

"I am so sorry, I do not know what came over me." Ultra Magnus whispered as he took a few steps back. How on Earth could he be so _stupid_? What possessed him to kiss one of his closest friends, someone who he'd known for eons and never thought about kissing before now? 

"Wait," Ultra Magnus felt a clawed hand grab his wrist, forcing him to turn around again. 

Now it was Ultra Magnus's turn to be caught off guard, his lips sealed against Dreadwing's for the second time. Dreadwing's arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer, their plating touching in a particularly welcome way. 

Unlike Dreadwing, Ultra Magnus was able to move himself. 

Ultra Magnus's optics fluttered shut as he brought up his servos to rest on Dreadwing's face plates again, leaning into the kiss. He opened his mouth and allowed Dreadwing access, which the smaller God graciously took advantage of.

Ultra Magnus could not remember a time he had been this happy. 

A few moments passed of just Dreadwing and Ultra Magnus; nothing else mattered in that time. Wheeljack faded away, the worries of losing Skyquake among many others went to the back burners on their minds, too absorbed with focusing on the being in front of them to care about anything else. 

Ultra Magnus pulled away suddenly, looking down at the surprised - yet satisfied - face beneath him. 

"Don't do this if you don't want to." Ultra Magnus pulled away a little, surprised when Dreadwing pulled him right back.

There was a cheeky grin on Dreadwing's face. "I want to." He replied, his voice huskier than Ultra Magnus remembered. 

"Good," Ultra Magnus found himself muttered, before leaning down and kissing Dreadwing again. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"Are you _sure_ Seaspray said he was comin'?" Impactor asked, drumming his digits on the table. Springer glanced at him before glancing at Kup, who was sipping his drink without a care in the world. 

"'Course I'm sure. What kinda fool do ya take me for?" Kup replied, shaking his helm. "Ol' Barnacle Butt always shows up late, give 'im time." 

Springer rolled his optics. "It's been two hours since we arranged to meet. We could have left by now, who needs Seaspray?" 

Kup shot him an angry glance. "Seaspray knows the galaxy like the back of his servo. We need him to find Jackie." The older mech replied gruffly, his tone leaving no room for argument. 

Springer and Impactor shared another glance before Impactor waved a waitress over and asked for another round of drinks. 

Kup, Springer and Impactor had made a lot of important strides in the days since they decided to go after Wheeljack. They'd secured the nicest ship Kup's favors could afford them - Kup had a lot of people in important places that owed him favors, so he got them a nice ship - as well as supplies to last them weeks or months if need be. 

The only part of their plan was missing was an extra set of hands, and they had decided that Seaspray, an old friend of both Kup's and Wheeljack's to help them out. 

Seaspray used to be one of the finest pilots in Cybertronian history, he even served as an instructor on Caminus's training program. He had retired a few years back after he met his soulmate, Alana, and left the force to settle down for a life with her. They'd had three kids in the meantime, with a fourth on the way last Springer heard. 

However, someone as loud and outgoing as Springer could not spend all of his days at home, and while Alana worked, neither of them could refuse an extra paycheck every now and then. So Seaspray would occasionally attend deep space missions with a small crew, similar to what Wheeljack did for fun. He would report his findings to Cybertron's government, and they would decide what to do with the information. 

Kup did have a point: Seaspray was their best option to find Wheeljack, even though they already had the coordinates to 'Valeran'. Seaspray would be quite helpful. 

The door to the pub opened and Springer looked behind him to see if it was Seaspray, and he let out a loud laugh as he recognized the face. "Oi, there he is!"

Springer waved his hand high above him so that Seaspray could see him. There were three mecha behind him, all of whom Springer had seen once or twice in the past. Brainstorm, Perceptor and Skyfire, Wheeljack's coworkers. 

Seaspray was a loud and charismatic mech who Springer admired incredibly for both his sense of humor and work ethic. He was a tall and sturdy mech, a mix of yellows, white and a teal color. 

Seaspray was an open book kind of mech, but he had a temper if he got mad enough. He had enough stories to outlast Ironhide, and was always willing to share. He had a battle scar running up his right cheek from a mission that had gone particularly sideways, and that was one story he could never tell too many times. 

"How's my favorite bucket of bolts doin'?" Seaspray laughed loudly, pulling Kup out of his seat to wrap his arms around him in a big hug. Kup joined in on his laughter which caused several people to turn and look at them, before returning to their own conversation. 

Seaspray motioned for Impactor and Springer to get out of their seats and give him a hug as well, and while they pretended to complain, they both got out from the booth and gave Seaspray the large bear hug he was looking for. 

Springer shook hands with the others, and offered for them to scoot into the booth. He scooted in after them just as the waitress came over with their drinks. She took the new mech's orders, exchanging a handshake with Seaspray after she recognized him. 

"So what's with the company?" Impactor asked, taking a sip of his drink. "Not to be rude but I didn't know we invited you." 

"You didn't, I did." Seaspray replied, his voice gruff. "Kup said you guys needed all the help you could get for this mission, and they were more than eager to help." 

"You're gonna need more than four brain cells between you four, and we got 'em." Brainstorm chuckled, and Perceptor slapped his face jokingly. 

"I'm confused though, where's Wheels? He loved traveling space for kicks." Seaspray asked, taking a sip from his drink after it was placed in front of him. He tipped the waitress and waved her goodbye. 

Kup's gaze shifted. "Wheels got lost on his last trip. That's why you're all here, to help us find him." 

"Wheeljack? _Lost_? You sure he's not hiding from you, old man?" Seaspray joked, but he had placed his drink down on the counter and his optics had turned a little sad. 

Springer shook his head. "Kup lost access to his ship after Wheeljack called and said he was going down on a planet called Valeran. We haven't been able to contact him since." 

"Valeran? Never heard of her." Seaspray replied. 

"Neither had we, but there are the coordinates." Impactor handed Seaspray the data pad that held Wheeljack's last known location. 

"Wheeljack was actin' pretty strange before he left." Kup added, taking a long swig of his drink until there was nothing left. He slammed his arm down on the table. "I knew I shouldn't have let him go, seein' ghosts and all." 

"Seeing ghosts?" Skyfire echoed. "Wheeljack was hallucinating?" 

"He said it was probably just 'cause he was working with chemicals without his mask or goggles on, but I didn't hear of you guys seein' things." Impactor added, and all three scientists shook their heads. 

"We were creating Cybermatter the day before he left. None of the chemicals should have caused hallucinations or anything related." Perceptor added. "And he was wearing his mask during the experiments, perhaps he took it off later for testing." 

"Well it don't matter, he's gone now." Kup huffed, crossing his arms. "Are you guys willing to come along to find him? Last chance for any wimps to back out." The older mech cast Seaspray and look and the teal mech rolled his optics. 

"What kinda ship you got?" 

"The Iter." 

"Slap me and call me a bitch no you don't." Seaspray chuckled, leaning forward. "You got the brand new _Iter_?" 

"The one and only. She's ready to leave when you are." 

"On that ship? I'll follow you anywhere. I'm in." Seaspray smirked, looking at the others with a gleam in his eyes. "Alana won't be happy with me, but after I tell her it's for Wheeljack she's understand." 

"I'm in too." Skyfire said, puffing out his chest proudly. 

"So are we." Brainstorm spoke for him and Perceptor. 

"When do we leave?" Springer asked, chugging the last of his drink. 

"Tomorrow mornin'. I suggest you all go home and get your beauty sleep everybody, the sooner we leave the sooner we get back." Kup announced, pushing everyone out of the booth and towards the door right away. "Oh, and your drinks're on me." 

Seaspray let out a whoop and allowed himself to be pushed out of the bar, while the rest of the rescue party followed him closely behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woot!!
> 
> Lemme tell you guys, I wasn't even thinking Dreadwing and Ultra Magnus could be a thing when I started writing this, maybe it's the Corona in me but the idea of them getting together came to me like three days ago and I just had to include it. Sooooo surprise!!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!! See you next time :)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! 
> 
> Hehe, so it's been a while with this fic, but I was finally able to get more than five minutes to finish it. I've honestly missed writing this one, but now the ideas are flowing again and I should be able to publish the next chapter on time. 
> 
> Thanks for being patient with me and helping me complete this chapter! It means so much to me you guys. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy and stay happy, healthy, and safe!

Miko yawned and stretched her arms above her head, ignoring the scrambled eggs in front of her. "I'm not going to eat those." 

June resisted the urge to roll her eyes and tapped the side of Miko's plate with a spoon. "You need breakfast, Miko. You're not allowed to do your chores if you don't eat, and if you don't do your chores you can't have fun. So if you want to have fun, eat your eggs." 

Miko sighed and began to turn a small piece of egg over and over on her plate with her fork. "Bulk makes them better." 

"Well, Bulkhead's not here right now, so eat up." Fowler tutted, and Miko groaned loudly. She scooped a large helping of eggs onto her fork and chewed obnoxiously with her mouth open, just to annoy them a little bit. June sent her a glare while Raf looked like he was about to reach over and close Miko's mouth for her, but neither of them said anything about it. 

"Miko, I'm embarrassed to know you sometimes." Jack face palmed with his free hand, the other holding a piece of toast. 

"Sometimes?" Raf added, laughing as Miko picked up a piece of egg and threw it at them. Raf scooped all the crumbs off his plate and drew it back into a fist, ready to launch it at Miko in a second. Jack face planted onto the table's surface so he could avoid the crossfire. 

"Children _please_." The three of them dropped the food from their hands and grumbled at Ratchet's stern tone, and they respectfully went silent as they waited for the Gods to speak. 

"So why are we here at ass o' clock in the morning?" Cliffjumper asked, twirling his finger above his head as he traced out the patterns on the ceiling in the air. 

"Just to annoy you, of course." Starscream fired back, neatly cutting a piece of his own breakfast omelette with a fork and knife, ignoring the way Miko was still shoveling it into her mouth. 

"We are here to discuss the predicament concerning Wheeljack. There has been a lot of confusion about whether or not he should be trained now, later, and what his place on this planet is, and I want to discuss how to precede further." Optimus explained, rising from his chair as he did so. There were a few shared glances after his words and Smokescreen muttered something to Bumblebee, who nodded back. 

"Wheeljack's powers are new, foreign if you will. It's not like we've never seen fire being used in a war like setting, just never from the hands of one of us." Megatron added on. "And Wheeljack has no idea how to use his own powers either." 

"Agreed. He nearly lost control yesterday and attacked Ultra Magnus. Not even Bulkhead could reign him in." Ratchet recalled the events of yesterday, the devilish look in Wheeljack's eyes directed at Ultra Magnus. 

"Where _is_ big blue?" Knock Out asked, scanning around the table just to make sure he hadn't missed the God. Not that he was going to make fun of the God for almost fighting the 'love of his life', no way. That would be childish. 

"I have not seen him since he stormed off yesterday after the predicament with Wheeljack. I told him he needed to take a break and relax, but it has been too long now and I am starting to worry." Optimus said sullenly. 

"I saw Dreadwing flying after him, they probably just spent the night out in the wilderness. Dreadwing will likely not leave him alone until he's sure Ultra Magnus is alright." Megatron said, and everyone nodded in agreement. 

"Back to the point; Bulkhead needs to learn how to be his anchor, and vice versa. If the prophecy is to be believed, they make each other immeasurably stronger when around the other. To have them not learn to be the other's anchor would jeopardize everything." 

"Being an anchor takes a lot of practice, years upon years of it to do it well. We don't have years." Arcee explained. 

Raf leaned over to Smokescreen, confused. "What does 'being an anchor' mean?" 

"Being an anchor is when another can connect with another's powers and control them, pulling them back from the edge. It's risky and a lot of work, but if they both get it right it can save a lot of trouble." Smokescreen explained. "Like Ratchet is Optimus's anchor, and Soundwave is Starscream's." 

"Are you Bumblebee's?" Jack asked. 

::We're working on it.:: Bumblebee jutted in. ::Like we said, it takes a lot of work::

"Where are Bulkhead and Wheeljack now?" Starscream asked.

"I saw them goin' down to the arena before we came in here." Breakdown said as he materialized a piece of cake for himself this early in the morning because Primus why not. "Wheeljack seemed pretty angry 'bout something, but I wasn't sure what. I offered to help 'em out, but Bulkhead wouldn't let me come with." 

"Bulkhead was very adamant that Wheeljack wasn't ready yesterday." Ratchet nodded. "It took quite a of convincing to get him to realize Wheeljack needed to be trained." 

Ratchet cast a glance to Miko, but looked away before the small girl could see it. 

"We'll let them have today, but Wheeljack's gonna need a lot of exposure to lots of different powers if he want him to even stand a chance against the Titans." Arcee pulled Cliffjumper's piece of cake away from him after he materialized it, shaking her head at her husband's antics. 

The conversation continued for what felt like hours after that, but was likely no more than a single hour at most, catching everyone up on the past events: Bumblebee and Soundwave's visions, what Wheeljack was allowed and not allowed to do, training regimens for Wheeljack to experience his powers, and everything in between. 

After they all sat down again after a quick stretch break, Optimus could tell everyone was getting bored of it all. He couldn't hold it against them after all; it was tiring to discuss something to wit's end and still try and enjoy it. Arcee's eyes were drooping and she was obviously nodding off, Cliffjumper scooting in front of her to try and hide his spark mate from Optimus and Megatron. 

Optimus looked at Megatron then, sensing something was wrong. "Old friend, is there something you wish to add?" 

Megatron snapped out of his train of thought and glanced at Optimus, still clearly pondering before he spoke. "Shockwave sent us a message." 

"Shockwave? How is he doing?" Optimus asked, clearly not expecting this addition. He was a little puzzled why Megatron hadn't mentioned this sooner, but then he realized this whole meeting was about catching everyone up on past events. 

Megatron sighed and licked his lips before continuing, but was interrupted by a booming voice in the doorway. 

"Thank you, Megatron. I will speak for myself." All heads turned to the doorway of the temple and a few shocked gasps came out when they saw Shockwave himself standing there, shoulders pulled back and standing straight. 

The God didn't wait for a cue or an invitation, he merely walked in and assumed his place at the table and remained standing, his one traveling among his fellow family members.

"What do you have to say, Shockwave?" Ratchet asked, his voice cutting through the almost uncomfortable tension of waiting for Shockwave to continue. "Has something happened to Beth?" 

Cliffjumper looked around and noticed the scary woman was not accompanying Shockwave. The God had come alone. 

"Nothing has happened to Beth, or any of the other Novians. That is why I am here." Shockwave turned his attention to Optimus and Megatron. "Obscurity visited me in a dream." 

A chorus of gasps and swears were the response to Shockwave's statement, and June hugged her son a little closer. 

"Blasted bitch," Megatron's jaw fell open as he realized what that meant. 

"If she got in your dreams, that means the Titans are closing in." Starscream finished Megatron's train of thought, his voice carrying every ounce of fear everyone else was feeling. 

"That is not entirely true; they are closing in on _Nova_ , but that gives us a little more time than them." Shockwave explained. "Nova is still a good distance away from here, we have more time than they do." 

"But where is Beth?" June demanded, her voice angry at Shockwave for possibly leaving her friend. "Surely you did not _abandon_ her and her people." 

"No, I have spoken with Beth and she and her people have promised to contact us when the Titans reach their planet. I have left them with satisfactory and excellent protection options that will buy them time to leave their planet and come here for further protection." Shockwave explained. "But that is not the only reason I left her behind." 

"Shockwave, what aren't you telling us?" Knock Out asked, trying to keep his tone even. 

"Obscurity revealed several things to me in her dream visit, but the most important among them was that there is a spy among us." 

The room fell silent, the sound of Miko's fork falling out of her and onto her plate deafening. 

"A _traitor_?!" Megatron rose from his seat and bashed a servo against the table, causing several plates and glasses to fall off and shatter on the floor. Soundwave raised a hand and cleaned it up without sparing it a glance; his optics still wide with disbelief. 

"Do you have any idea who Obscurity could be alluding to?" Optimus asked more calmly. 

"She gave me no clues, she simply stated that she had intel that could be described as reliable, given how close this person was to us." Megatron got up and stormed away to prevent himself from tearing something to shreds. Soundwave materialized a punching bag for him, which was quickly put to use. 

"I am sorry I cannot provide much more than terror at this time." Shockwave's head hung low, his antenna twitching sadly. "But I told Obscurity that Wheeljack has become fully realized, which struck some fear into her spark, that I could sense." 

"Well that was a pretty good lie, because he's not." Arcee grunted out, her arms crossed and her face set in a scowl. "He can use the minimum of his powers and usually that's not on purpose. Let alone the other basic things about being a God, like moving things with his mind and materializing stuff." 

" _Can_ he learn that? Would it be a waste of time?" Fowler asked honestly. 

Ratchet shook his head. "It's believable that Primus gifted Wheeljack with all the blessings of a God, but his primary focus in training is to utilize his fire abilities." 

Fowler nodded. "I can go check on them now, see if they'd made any progress." 

"I think it's best we all go." Optimus rose from his chair and everyone followed. "Wheeljack no longer has the luxury to wait, and Bulkhead cannot refuse our help." 

There was some murmurs of agreement as everyone made their way to the doors to the training arena. 

"Should we get Dreadwing and Ultra Magnus?" Smokescreen asked as he scooped the Valerans into his hands. 

"No, let them rest. They'll join us when they can." Ratchet said softly, walking out the door. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

_Hands, sharp digits clinging to his hips, desperate_. 

Ultra Magnus's optics opened slowly; he could hear the tiny whirs as they adjusted to the bright light of the sun peaking in through the window and doors. 

_A moan, sharp and passionate in his audio receptor_.

Ultra Magnus grunted and rolled over so he was on his back before slowly sitting up. 

_Blue plating. Sharp, familiar, safe. Pieces of paint chipped onto his armor, mixing with his own plating to make a lighter blue_. 

Ultra Magnus reached a full sitting position, looking around his temple in confusion. His blanket was draped over his lower half but one leg was left uncovered, falling off the side until Ultra Magnus pulled it back onto the bed.

"It's already noon, Magnus." 

_Oh that voice_. 

Ultra Magnus turned, his spark pounding in his chest as his optics fell upon Dreadwing, sitting right beside the bed with a cup of steaming hot tea in his hands. Dreadwing was watching him, a guarded look on his face, trying to cover an emotion Ultra Magnus couldn't see. 

_That voice, whispering into his audios comforting words, words of passion and drive and encouragement into his overload_. 

"Dreadwing…did we?" 

"Miss the meeting Optimus and Megatron called? Yes, we did." Dreadwing answered, holding optic contact. 

Ultra Magnus felt his spark sinking. This would be the first meeting he'd missed since he'd been created by Primus all those years ago, a streak he had been most proud of. He couldn't believe he slept through it just for…that. 

He realized Dreadwing hadn't answered the real question he'd asked, and he swallowed before opening his mouth. 

"Did we?" Ultra Magnus tried again, his voice more cautious and reserved, expecting the answer he dreaded. 

Dreadwing's steely gaze met his own. "Yes." His answer was simple, quick, and Ultra Magnus could hear in his voice what he was hiding.

Regret. Hurt. 

"Dreadwing, I am sorry that you feel I took advantage of you, because I did, in a way -"

"Yes, you did." Dreadwing replied, his voice angry but calm. "I know how you feel about Wheeljack, I knew you were simply using me as a way to distract your thoughts from him, but I really thought I was helping you, take your mind off him. I was a fool for thinking so." 

Ultra Magnus bristled. "You are not a fool, you were more than a distraction Dreadwing." 

Dreadwing rose from his chair, the tea cup vanishing with a wave of his hand. "It's very hard not to think this way, Magnus. I was simply nothing more than a rebound, and I am willing to never mention this whole incident if you are." 

Dreadwing turned to leave, but Ultra Magnus sprang from the bed and grabbed his wrist, noticing how there was bits of his own plating on Dreadwing's arms and legs. 

"Dreadwing, old friend, I am so sorry that I used you that way. I understand it must have been degrading and hurtful, but I never intended it that way." 

"Ultra Magnus, it doesn't _matter_ what you _intended_ , because that is what happened." Dreadwing argued, not turning around to look. "I am not interesting in being used as a distraction whenever you see Bulkhead and Wheeljack living the life you so desire." 

Ultra Magnus felt shame rising in his gut as he realized that he was absolutely in the wrong, and there was not much - next to nothing - he could possibly do to make it right to Dreadwing. 

The God slowly let go of Dreadwing's wrist, and the mech dropped his wrist and allowed it to fall to his side but didn't move out of the temple. He stayed frozen in place, his optics trained at the ground and sadness rippling in his field.

"Dreadwing, I am so sorry. I promise you this will never happen again, and I will do whatever I can to make it up to you." Ultra Magnus swore, and Dreadwing tensed for a moment before he relaxed. "Things will go back to normal and we can forget this ever happened." 

"I don't think I can ever go back to normal," Dreadwing barked out. "and I will sure as Pit never forget it." 

Dreadwing did move then, stomping out before transforming into a Predacon and flying away. The large flaps of his wings blew against the grass and nearby trees and back into the temple, brushing against Ultra Magnus's cheeks. 

Ultra Magnus stayed standing alone in his temple for a long time after that, his optics beginning to fill with tears at his shame. The tears slowly began falling down to the floor by his feet, and he didn't bother to clean himself up for a long time. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

The warm sunlight beat down on his back, warming his plating. 

'Calm and controlled, calm and controlled.' Wheeljack thought to himself, waiting for the immaculate moment when his spirit would fricking _do something_. 

'Any second now,' Wheeljack thought as a bird squeaked in the distance, nearly breaking his concentration. He grunted and crunched in on himself a little, trying to focus. 

Wheeljack's boredom eventually won over. 

The mech let out a loud groan and fell backwards, lying down on the arena floor, his legs still crossed over each other. 

"This is _pointless_! I feel nothing right now." Wheeljack grumbled, slapping his servos over his face as he let out another loud annoyed cry. 

"That's because you're not trying hard enough," Bulkhead replied from where he was sitting, his feet pressed against each other and his hands folded in his lap neatly. His optics were closed, his breathing calm and controlled. "tapping into the spiritual side of your powers takes time, it can't be done in five minutes." 

"But I already have my powers," Wheeljack sat up and extended his servo, palm facing up. He brought to life a small emblem of fire, flickering and glowing bright. He closed his fist and the fire died, a small amount of smoke drifting out of his servo. "who needs the spiritual part anyway? Waste of time." 

"It is not." Bulkhead opened one eye and closed it again. "Connecting to our spiritual powers is a really important part of using your powers well. Right now you're uncontrolled and a rookie, you've only tapped into the raw energy part. Once you get the spiritual part, then you'll really be unstoppable." 

Wheeljack let out a fake yawn, rolling his optics dramatically. "Uh huh. And I'm supposed to contact my spirit side by sitting here like a rock?" 

Bulkhead opened both his eyes now, a slightly annoyed look on his face. Wheeljack raised his hands and chuckled a little, albeit a little awkward. "My bad, no offense." 

Bulkhead sighed and straightened where he sat, closing his optics and concentrating. "Watch this." 

Wheeljack waited, fixing his stance so one leg was propped up and the same side arm resting on it peacefully. He waited for a dramatic show of Bulkhead's power, but Bulkhead continued to sit there…like a rock. 

Bulkhead opened his optics, but this time instead of the familiar blue Wheeljack had come to like, they were a glowing emerald green. 

Before Wheeljack could even open his mouth, he was thrown backwards by a force so powerful it launched him at least a hundred feet, tumbling and tossing until he eventually came to a stop. He sprang up, shock all over his face as he looked back to Bulkhead. 

Bulkhead's sitting form was now surrounded by a glowing Predacon; Wheeljack recognized them from Cybertronian history and when he'd seen them on Valeran once or twice when the Gods would transform into them. The Predacon was outlined with silver and a beautiful green and brown, just like the earth Bulkhead controlled. 

The spirit was walking around Bulkhead, roaring and leaving rocks wherever it stepped beside Bulkhead. 

"Holy Pit," Wheeljack breathed out, taking a step forward, then a few more to try and get a closer look. The Predacon roared again and Wheeljack stood still. 

The Predacon rose from Bulkhead's body and flew upwards, flying higher and higher and screaming as it went up. It almost made it to the clouds before it turned sharply and began to fall straight back down, its body moving straight towards Bulkhead. The green God seemed oblivious, his eyes still glowing and staring at nothing. 

"Bulk, watch out!" 

Wheeljack began running closer, hoping to get closer to Bulkhead before the Predacon could attack him. His servos ignited with a flame and he tried to strike out a few fire blasts, but he was too late. 

The Predacon hit Bulkhead's body and reabsorbed into it, Bulkhead's optics glowing brighter until the light faded back into the regular blue. The mech blinked a few times before he focused on Wheeljack, a smirk on his lips. 

" _That's_ what connecting to your spirit side gives you. Super charged power," Bulkhead chuckled. "are you ready to try again?" 

Wheeljack grumbled and realized he'd been a little harsh to Bulkhead, so he moved again and sat down in the spot he'd been earlier, crossing his legs and rolling his eyes. 

"Am I gonna have to meditate every time I want super charged power?" Wheeljack asked, closing his optics and trying to center himself. 

"No, after a while you can access your spiritual side anytime, but sometimes it might come out when you don't want it to, even after you've connected with it fully."

"Like earlier, with Magnus." Wheeljack finished what Bulkhead was obviously avoiding. "That was my spirit side coming out?" 

Bulkhead sighed. "I'm not really sure what that was. But maybe if you can contact your spiritual side, they'll tell you." 

Wheeljack cracked open an optic. "They'll tell me what? My spiritual side can speak?" 

Bulkhead chuckled. "You'll see, just give it another go." 

Wheeljack muttered a few curses of annoyance under his breath but closed his optics nonetheless, expecting to sit here like a bum for several more minutes before Bulkhead would eventually take pity on him or something. 

After what Wheeljack was _sure_ was at last ten minutes of trying, he said without opening his optics, "Well Bulkhead, maybe I'm just not cut out for the spiritual stuff." 

Bulkhead didn't respond and Wheeljack huffed. 

"Look, I'm sorry that I'm not the great fire wielder you wanted, but I can be just as good without the frickin' spirit Predacon you got." Wheeljack grunted out, still not opening his optics. 

"Well then, maybe I don't need you either little one." 

That was _not_ Bulkhead's voice. 

Wheeljack opened his optics and was met with a red Predacon face to face with him, its large nostrils exhaling smoke by the second. Wheeljack let out a startled cry and jumped backwards, bringing his arms to life with his own fire. 

The Predacon was large, at least four times Wheeljack's own. Its scales were a beautiful red, with hints of amber and yellow and orange. Its eyes were a mix of gold and black, seeming alive with fire as it looked Wheeljack up and down. It had four legs and massive wings, spread out beside him in a dramatic display. 

"Who the Pit are you?" Wheeljack didn't move his gaze away from the Predacon, but he could feel beneath his feet that he was not in the training arena anymore. He was surrounded by blackness, the voice stretching on and on for what seemed like forever. 

"I am Linx, the spirit of fire within you gifted by Primus himself." Linx slipped towards him, his amber eyes flickering in Wheeljack's fire. "I am the very best of you, and the very worst. Without me, you cannot wield the fire that burns so bright within you." 

"You're… _inside my mind_." Wheeljack sputtered, the fire dying in his hands and fell back down to his side. 

"Always have been, always will be." Linx replied, huffing more smoke out of his nose. "We are one, Wheeljack. Two halves of the same body. I grant you my power, and you grant me a vessel." 

"Wait a second," Wheeljack took an angry step back. "I'm your _vessel_? You could control me if you wanted to?" 

"Yes," Linx replied as if that was supposed to be obvious. "just like you could completely control me. Snuff my spark and make me nothing more than a well of pure and evil fire. That is what the Titans have done to their inner spirits." 

Wheeljack relaxed a little, a little comfort brought to him by the confirmation that he couldn't be controlled by the spirit sitting inside his mind. "So I managed to cross over to my spirit side?" 

Linx nodded, laying down and pressing his large feet under his chest. "Yes; though I was starting to doubt if you ever could. You kept me waiting a long time to finally meet you." 

Wheeljack narrowed his optics. "Well I am _so sorry_ , chump for not knowing there was a _spirit_ inside my mind." 

"You discovered your fire at a young age, didn't you?" Linx countered. 

"Yeah, but my first thought wasn't to sit down and meditate on it. I thought my parents would treat me like a freak, send me away to some lab so they could poke and prod me with machines to figure out how I tick." Wheeljack replied angrily. 

Linx blinked, almost seeming bored. "Do you remember how you saw your powers for the first time, Jackie?"

"Don't call me that. It's Wheeljack to you, tough guy." 

The Predacon's mouth twisting in a strange way that could almost be defined as a smile. "Pity. And here I was about to let you call me Linny. A shame, honestly. But answer the question, Wheeljack." 

Wheeljack thought back, digging deep into his memory banks to find the memory he'd often tried to forget. "Kup locked me in the walk-in freezer at his shop 'cause he thought I'd left already. I think I might've died that night." 

"Oh, you did." Linx chuckled. "You were dead for about an hour before I was awakened to save you." 

Wheeljack's optics widened as he remembered being a scared little youngling, looking up from what he'd thought had been a nap to see a large - but at the moment, he seemed smaller - Predacon nestled around him, his warm breath hitting Wheeljack's cold face. 

Wheeljack lifted a finger and pointed it at Linx. "It was _you_. You saved me." 

"Guilty as charged," Linx shrugged. "I didn't want my vessel to die. It was a win-win for both of us; I got to keep my vessel, you got to unlock your powers." 

"Thought I was crazy for the longest time after that." Wheeljack muttered, scratching the back of his head. "Were you...little back then?" 

Linx nodded again. "We grew up together. When you got bigger, so did I."

"I don't know why you're so big then, I stopped growing a while ago." Wheeljack crossed his arms and pouted, upset that he was so small. 

There was a moment of silence as the two of them just looked at each other, Wheeljack more confused and Linx a little more pensive. 

"So, what do we do now?" 

Linx rose from where he lay and began to walk the other direction. "You save the world, get the boy. Everyone's happy." 

"Just like that?"

"Obviously not, you dim wit. You have a long way to go before you're ready to consider taking on the Titans." 

Wheeljack rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna teach me then?"

"What? Speak up, boy." 

" _Teach me_." Wheeljack repeated. "Bulk's babying me 'cause he doesn't want me to get hurt, and everyone else is too afraid to tell me what to do." 

"Bulkhead loves you, he wants what's best for you." 

"Bulkhead doesn't love me. He only spends all this time together 'cause his imprint is on me." Wheeljack barked back, and Linx paused, not looking back.

"You're blind, kid. But I can't tell you what to think, if that's what you want to believe then do it, but I'll be happy to tell you you're wrong any day of the week. Oh, and ask Megatron and Soundwave to train you. They're not afraid of anyone." Linx replied, turning and walking away. 

Wheeljack's vision was filled with a bright light and his body felt wrong before he was falling backwards, his head colliding with the hard floor of the arena. 

"Jackie!" 

Wheeljack groaned and looked up, Bulkhead's relieved face blocking the sun. "I was so worried buddy, you entered the spirit realm and your Predacon appeared. Biggest Predacon I ever saw." 

"Yeah, Linx did. We talked alright." Wheeljack groaned, sitting up and grabbing his head, which he realized now was pounding. 

"I'm proud of you, Jackie. You managed to enter the spirit realm pretty quick, all things considered." Bulkhead praised, and Wheeljack felt his face heating up from the words of encouragement. 

Bulkhead began rubbing gentle circles up and down Wheeljack's back, his eyes full of concern and ready to spring into action if Wheeljack merely requested it. 

Wheeljack met his gaze with a bashful one, before looking down at the imprint still on his arm. 

"Listen, Bulkhead -" 

"Hey, love birds!" 

Wheeljack's train of thought was interrupted as he and Bulkhead looked behind them, Wheeljack craning his neck to see. The other Gods were entering the arena, walking towards them with strange looks on their faces. 

Smokescreen ran right up and wrapped Wheeljack in a hug, laughing and nuzzling his face into Wheeljack's cheek. 

Bulkhead narrowed his optics before pushing the kid off, and Wheeljack sent him a grateful glance. 

"Wheeljack," the white mech looked up and met Optimus's stern gaze, rising to his feet. "it is time to begin your formal training." 

Wheeljack smirked, looking past Optimus and towards the other Gods. "Fine, but they get to teach me." 

Wheeljack raised a hand and pointed it at Megatron and Soundwave, who seemed surprised - except Soundwave, who barely twitched - that Wheeljack had chosen them, but Megatron's shock quickly morphed into a sick grin, one that should have scared the smaller mech but only made him feel more confident he'd made the right choice when listening to Linx. 

"Very well," Megatron snapped his fingers and the arena floor began to shake, a panel in the center parting and opening up, revealing an underground training regime so extreme Wheeljack knew it was going to kill him. "let us begin."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOO Dreadwing's angryyyy
> 
> I had so much fun writing this chapter I can't wait to write the next one! Thank you guys so much for reading and I'll see you next time!!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! New week new chapter! 
> 
> I'm just as surprised as you guys that I managed to get this out on time, given this past week was exams and such. Just a headsup I might not post until after Christmas and New Years since it'll be a busy time, but I'm hoping to still make some progress on my works in the meantime. 
> 
> Thank you guys for reading and leaving kudos! It really means so much to me. 
> 
> Hope you guys and enjoy and stay happy, healthy and safe!

_"Airachnid! Where are you?!"_

Airachnid dove under cover, his fists raised and ready to attack the training dummy at the center of the arena. The simulation was gifted with the power of darkness, like Megatron and the Titans possessed. 

It was proving to be very challenging indeed, but that's how Airachnid preferred it. She was cold, calculating and a damn good fighter, and she wasn't about to sell herself short with an easy round of training. 

Even after all these years being out of the direct line of fire, she hadn't lost her touch. She knew herself to be one of the most feared Gods Primus created, and everyone else knew it too. Between her powers of manipulation and her ability to severe her feelings from the battlefield, she was almost as good as Optimus and Megatron. 

But today, her head just wasn't in the training regimen, not matter what she did to try and focus herself. 

Her mind was being plagued with a waking nightmare of a previous battle back on Cybertron, one that almost cost Airachnid her life. 

_"Airachnid I'm going to rip your throat out when I find you!"_

_Airachnid was sprinting now, all eight of her legs moving as fast as they could over the terrain. War and siege had gotten to this side of the planet already, the ground torn apart by fighting and stained with blood. There wasn't room to take off; she couldn't transform into her Predacon body and fly away, which would have been much easier._

_"Airachnid! You can't run away forever!" Null's voice hollered over the sound of explosions. "I will find you! And when I do, you'll wish your Primus never created you!"_

Airachnid blinked and forced herself back into reality, looking up over the ledge and down towards the dummy. The gray, faceless drone was standing there, sending out feelers in an attempt to find Airachnid that way. It stood completely still, waiting for its power to find the God. 

Airachnid must have been zoned out for a while, because she felt a dark tentacle wrap around her ankle before she had the proper time to react. She let out a cry of surprise and tried to break the dark tentacle off her ankle, but it was no use. 

The dummy gave a pull which sent Airachnid flying forward, twisting in midair until it slammed her against the ground. 

Airachnid tried to stand up but was still shaken up by the force of being _thrown on the ground_. She inhaled sharply as she felt a rock digging into her side, piercing her plating and allowing energon to slow freely, but luckily just barely. 

Just a simple scratch. Nothing her own systems couldn't heal. 

Airachnid lifted her arms and managed to push off the ground so she was airborne, before extending out her webs and latching onto a wall for support. 

She shot out another web and managed to over the dummy with it, buying herself some time for a plan. 

_"There you are!" Null screamed, and Airachnid felt a cold, slimey hand wrap around her wrist and yank her down. She fell between the cracks of the surface, screaming and thrashing around as Null yanked her down with him._

_They fought midair, punching and striking and Airachnid doing everything in her power to get free. She ignored the pain as Null's sharp fingers darted in between her plating on her chest, causing energon to bubble and flow freely from her new wound._

_Airachnid struck forward and returned the favor, slashing Null across the cheek, making sure to charge as much venom as she could through her fingertips and into the new scar._

_Null's scream of pain was enough of a reward for her._

_The two of them hit the ground on their feet, and immediently went back to fighting. They were evenly matched, one not more powerful than the other in a dramatic way; they balanced out their skills._

_"You know, Null, it's a shame I have to rip apart your handsome face. I almost feel bad about it." Airachnid smirked as she dodged a blow. She grunted and struck forward with one of her legs and managed to get out of range before Null could strike again._

_Null chuckled and extended dark tentacles outward, which zoomed toward Airachnid's body with surprising speed. "Can't say the same for you, sweetheart. Though it is a shame you didn't take Obscurity's offer. You would have been a great Titan."_

_Airachnid laughed as she sliced through one of the tentacles, five clones of her darting out from her form. "If there's anyone I hate more than my own kind, it's yours."_

Airachnid shook her head again and produced seven clones of herself; her number one defense and offense. She was called the God of Deception for a reason. 

Some of the clones attacked, acting and sounding identical to Airachnid herself. The real Airachnid, as well as a few others, hung back, waiting to see how the dummy reacted. 

The dummy reacted as she expected, attacking the clones in front of it and completely ignoring Airachnid herself and the others that hung back. It lashed out with quickness and accuracy and even managed to make one clone disappear, but it let its guard down in the process. 

Airachnid waited until the dummy had turned its back on her before she charged forward, her clones following close behind. She let the two on her left strike first, taking out the dummy's knees with their venom and allowing it to fall on his face. 

The last clone dashed forward and slashed the dummy in the lower back, effectively paralyzing it. 

Airachnid chuckled, walking slowly around to the dummy's head, a gleeful smile on her lips. 

"Well done ladies," Airachnid commented to her clones as she lifted her heel. "perfect as always." 

As Airachnid slammed her heel into the dummy's head, her clones flickered and vanished. 

Airachnid's moment of pride and glee was quickly disrupted as her audio receptors glitched with a horrible static and buzzing noise, while her processor felt like it was on fire. 

Airachnid screamed and grabbed the sides of her face, crouching down and shutting her eyes as tightly as she could. She let out another horrible scream as her body continued to feel like it was being torn apart. 

She threw back her head, her arms falling to her side as she screamed once again, her body shaking and shivering as she tried - and failed - to get a hold of herself. 

_Null laughed with such sinister intent as he reached in his other servo into Airachnid's processor, the dark, almost transparent fingers twisting around her gears, looking for the next memory to pull._

_"You know I discovered this technique by using it on my brother. He didn't survive the process, and I trust you won't either." Null commented as he yanked back out, pulling a glow, golden memory out in between his fingers._

_"What are you doing to me?!" Airachnid demanded, the momentary release from pain almost euphoric._

_"Stealing your memories, of course! I was planning just to possess you, but then there's the chance you could break free and kill yourself, taking me with you. And we can't have that, can we?" Null replied coldly, reaching up his hand to take another memory. "This way, you won't even remember your precious little family, and you'll take them out without prompting."_

_Airachnid shivered despite her body being on fire, her breaths shaky as she desperately tried to figure a way out_. 

Airachnid coughed, shaking her entire body and causing her to launch forward, holding her chest as she struggled to breath. Her systems were overheated, the phantom pain filling her body causing them to enter overdrive to cool her down. 

Many minutes passed before Airachnid felt comfortable enough to stand, but when she did so, she clenched her fists and let out a growl. 

"You're close, aren't you Null?" Airachnid hissed out, looking up at the clear sky. "You're almost here, you've just sent me a reminder of our last time together." 

Airachnid looked back towards the Castle, where Crow was no doubt talking to his most trusted advisors about some boring thing or another. 

She scowled. "While I have valued our time together, Crow; it is me or you, and I think you would do the same thing in my position." 

Airachnid turned and faced the opposite direction, hesitating for only a moment before she transformed into her Predacon form and took off the skies, flying in the direction of Valeran.

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Wheeljack may not have been fighting with his powers for very long - Pit, what had it been, like two weeks now where he could use them freely? - but he had been taught by the people around him about regular street fighting and other more advanced forms of fighting, such as dual swords or hand to hand combat. 

Linx had been right; Megatron and Soundwave were definitely the best choices for his main teachers. They were hard on him and pushed him to his breaking point the past few days, but Wheeljack could feel himself getting better by the minute, the confidence in his frame overwhelming. Deep down, he felt pieces of himself falling into place, as if a tension he never knew he had was being relieved. 

Wheeljack wondered if that was his bond with Linx strengthening with his powers, and something told him he was right. 

Wheeljack had managed to best every round of the training simulation Megatron threw at him with almost lack of ease, able to adapt to the environment and defeat it. 

Now he was facing his toughest challenge yet: a real opponent. 

Arcee had volunteered eagerly to be first, and the Goddess of Storms was a lot tougher than she looked on the outside. 

Wheeljack loved it. 

They had been fighting for a couple minutes now, figuring each other out and finding the others' strengths and weaknesses. Wheeljack had originally thought Arcee didn't have any; she hid them very well. But as their battle went on, he was slowly picking apart her fighting style, biding his time for himself to strike out. 

Arcee screamed and launched herself into the air, reaching back one hand and bringing a lightning bolt right out of the dark storm clouds above her. She began to naturally fall towards Wheeljack, the lightning twisting into a rod in his hands. 

Wheeljack maintained his position, clenching his fists and allowing two blades of hot fire to shoot out the base. Arcee's lightning blade hit where Wheeljack crossed his swords in front of him in an 'X', and Arcee's blade of lightning came right down the center. 

Arcee had the advantage of coming down on him from above with all of her force behind her, but Wheeljack set himself just right and stepped back with his right foot, rolling backwards and launching Arcee over him. 

Arcee recovered quickly, shooting the lightning bolt back towards Wheeljack, followed quickly by another. 

Wheeljack kept his rolls going and stood facing away from the lightning bolts, but he turned with moments to spare and grabbed the lightning bolts right of the hair, centimetres from his optics. 

He dropped the lightning bolts with a grunt and they vanished in sparks on the floor by his feet. 

Wheeljack chuckled and dropped his foot back into a guarding stance, his hands already burning with fire as he brought them up by his face. "Pretty tough for a two-wheeler, I'll give you that." 

Arcee smirked right back, bringing up her fists and keeping her feet light, bouncing around as she moved closer to Wheeljack. "And you're pretty good for a newbie." 

"I've been 'round the ringer a few times." Wheeljack replied, keeping his focus on Arcee but not dropping his guard on either side. 

"Wheeljack! Leave the trash talk for later. Keep your focus!" Megatron called out from the sides of the arena, where he and the other Gods were watching with interest. 

Wheeljack cast him a quick glance, his eyes narrowed. "Whatever you say, Buckethead." Wheeljack turned back to Arcee and said in a much quieter tone. "Do you think I could take him on yet?" 

"Maybe in five years." Arcee laughed, setting herself and letting her guards drop. When she opened her eyes they were beginning to glow. 

Wheeljack, despite the fear building in his gut, kept the facade up. "Oh, we're getting serious now, aren't we?"

"Oh you have no idea." Arcee's optics glowed brightly and the clouds above them darkened even more. She lifted her hands and the clouds bent to her very will, forming small tornadoes that peaked down from the main area of the dark storm clouds, thunder and lightning flashing above them. 

"Ha ha, that's my girl!" Cliffjumper slapped Bulkhead on the back as they watched Arcee throw down one hand, sending a whirlwind towards Wheeljack. The Fire mech jumped out the way, rolling to get back on his feet as he struck outwards with a ball of fire. Arcee deflected it with a powerful wind, dissipating the fire until it was nothing more than sparks. "Looks like your boyfriend is toast." 

"He's not my boyfriend." Bulkhead defended absentmindedly, watching as Arcee didn't let up with the tornadoes, striking at Wheeljack with everything she had. "And he'll be fine." 

"He is doing exceptionally well," Dreadwing muttered, his arms tucked behind his back and his expression blank. There was an edge to his voice as if he was waiting for someone to challenge his claim. "Arcee is a tough opponent and he is doing an excellent job adapting. Perhaps he will be a great fighter soon." 

"Indeed," Ultra Magnus's voice was also thick with emotion, but neither of them looked at each other. 

Cliffjumper and Bulkhead shared a glance, confused as to why Ultra Magnus and Dreadwing were acting so strange. Maybe it was still from Wheeljack nearly attacking Ultra Magnus, and perhaps Dreadwing was trying to help him in some weird, unexpected way. 

Still, they were acting a little weirder than normal, and for Ultra Magnus that was saying a lot. 

Bulkhead's attention was drawn back to the battle as Wheeljack managed to get closer, covering himself in a fire cocoon and launching fireballs at Arcee without the risk of blowing away. 

Bulkhead must have stepped closer, because Starscream's slender but strong arm stopped him from moving. His optics were cold, and his tone was too when he spoke, but Bulkhead could feel the kindness behind his words when he said, "Leave him be. He'll be alright." 

Bulkhead nodded appreciatively and straightened, watching Wheeljack fight on. 

Wheeljack grunted as he felt another blast of air hit against his shield, causing his feet to slide against the ground. Despite being completely protected by his fire shield, he was loosing ground from the force of the blasts hitting him. He couldn't be on the defensive forever; he would have to make a move sooner rather than later. 

With a grunt and a lot of extra effort, he converted his cocoon into a shield that covered the top and front of him, allowing him to peak out the sides at Arcee. The femme was lifted up in the air, her eyes still glowing as she brought down her hand with another lightning blast. 

Wheeljack raised his right hand and fired another fire ball, which almost caught Arcee off guard considering he hadn't fired anything in several minutes now. She managed to twist the fire away with an air blast, turning away from Wheeljack for just a split moment. 

A split moment was all he needed. 

Wheeljack had to act quickly if this was going work. He wasn't sure if it could, but he had to try if he had any hope of winning this match. 

Wheeljack's spark pounded in his chest as he dropped his shield and ran towards Arcee as fast as his legs could carry him, jumping out of the way of any tornado or lightning blast Arcee threw. 

Once he was closer he crouched slightly on the ground before fire shot out from his pedes and fists, sending him flying into the air just like he had the first day he arrived. He rose in the air until he was even with Arcee, a smirk rising to his face as Arcee tried to figure out his plan. 

"Afraid of heights, tough guy?" Arcee chuckled, rising higher. 

"You wish," Wheeljack replied, following her right into her own storm cloud. 

Was it a trap? Totally. Was he going to go in anyway? Absolutely.

Wheeljack paused when he realized he could no longer see Arcee, the dark storm clouds around him preventing him from seeing her properly. He could hear her swooshing amongst the clouds, but he didn't bother to strike as he knew it would be too late. 

He heard the crackling of lightning to his left and knew he had no time to dodge. So, being the logical thinker he was, he merely set his fist on fire and punched the lightning out of the sky. 

It tickled against his fist, and Wheeljack's confidence grew. 

It continued on like this for some time; Arcee striking behind the cover of her clouds and Wheeljack punching or kicking the blasts away. He found that punching air was less than effective, so he had learned to dodge those pretty early on. 

Bulkhead stared up at the clouds, watching as the outline of Wheeljack would light up every few seconds as he used his power before the shadow faded and went dark. Wheeljack had been up there for a while and if he knew Arcee's fighting style - and oh did he ever - she was gearing up for her big finale. 

Wheeljack grunted as two lightning bolts came from opposite each other, and he knew Arcee was stepping up the stakes. He couldn't afford to wait for her to slip up anymore. 

"Come out, come out wherever you are." Wheeljack grinned, extending all his limbs into a star formation. He could feel his optics lighting up as his power roared to life within him, feeling stronger than ever before. 

He could almost feel Linx in his mind preening with excitement at using their newfound combined might, so Wheeljack didn't let him down. 

Wheeljack let fire out of all four limbs; and when he opened his mouth in a giant scream, fire exploded from his tongue as well. The clouds vanished quickly from the intense fire, the burning hot embers of it blinding. 

Arcee cried out as the fire caught on her plating, and before she could brush it off and stabilize, she was met with Wheeljack tackling her mid air. 

The two of them plummeted towards the ground, Wheeljack's plating hot against Arcee's from his fire. Arcee watched the clouds literally exploding like fireworks above them as they fell, creating an almost pretty picture in the sky. 

Wheeljack landed on his feet, Arcee in his arms until she jumped out. She punched him roughly on the arm, and he chuckled, rubbing the spot she hit. 

"Not bad, Wheeljack," Arcee praised as the other Gods walked over, equally pleased expressions on their faces. "you had me a little nervous there with all that fire breathing." 

"That was awesome!" Smokescreen cried out, punching midair and pretending to breathe fire as he ran over excitedly, pulling Bumblebee along with. The younger God was clearly just as enthralled by that fight as Smokescreen was, Wheeljack's mind filling with his happy chippers. "I wish I could breathe fire!" 

Wheeljack chuckled, but immediently stopped as he saw Bulkhead walking towards him, a chair and a glass of energon in his servo. Wheeljack walked over and accepted the energon and sat down on the stool. He almost forgot to contain his moan as Bulkhead began to work at the tense parts of his shoulders. 

"That was really great Jackie," Bulkhead said softly, focused on his work. "you're the strongest newbie I've ever seen." 

Wheeljack rolled his optics and fought to keep the blush off his face at the nickname. "Try and sound a little more excited please, I can't contain myself in your glee." Wheeljack joked, and Bulkhead's laugh made his spark flutter. "Thanks for teaching me." 

Bulkhead sighed and his servos fell away from Wheeljack's shoulders as Megatron walked over. "We both know most of this wasn't me." 

Megatron's face was almost approving, though it also looked disappointed. "Adequate. There's much to improve on, but you demonstrated effectively the skills we've taught you thus far." Megatron turned slightly and clasped his hands behind his back. "Rest up; you've got an hour before your next fight." 

Wheeljack perked up at that. "Oh, and who's gonna try and beat me up this time, Buckethead?" 

Megatron snickered. "Soundwave, of course." 

Wheeljack's smirk dropped. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"Any word from Shockwave?" Beth asked, looking out the window of her palace. It was a dark and stormy day, the winds picking up by the hour and the rain already enough to drown a few crops." 

"None, ma'am. He hasn't reported since he informed us he arrived at Valeran." Beth's chief advisor Tonak said, disappointment and confusing in his tone. 

"Why did he say he left again?" 

"He left in the hopes of keeping the Titans from Valeran. Without him here, there's more of a chance they'll leave us all alone." 

"And he took all his experiments?" 

"Every last one your Majesty." 

Beth sighed and shook her head. "Do you think Shockwave ever stopped to consider that the Titans might come anyway and he's left us defenseless?" 

Tonak shrugged, flipping through a few papers. "Think like Shockwave, your majesty. Logically speaking, he took the best course of action. Is it a risk? Of course, but it was a risk he was willing to take. While he left with his experiments, he left us our increased and advanced defenses; he didn't leave us completely alone." 

Beth sighed again and turned around, walking around and sat down in her chair, throwing her legs up on the table. "And he couldn't even be bothered to say goodbye in person. After all the years he's been with us, you'd like to think the villagers got that luxury." 

Tonak adjusted his glasses. "You Majesty, it's Shockwave, you can never really expect him to do what you want him to; he's been his own person since he got here. You know he's only trying to protect you and he'll offer a small apology after this is all over, I'm sure of it."

Beth wasn't entirely convinced, but Tonak did have a point that while Shockwave was largely independent and thought logically about everything despite a few good reasons not to, he always kept the well being of the Novians in his top priority, explaining his security detail and experiments. 

Beth rolled her eyes and motioned for Tonak to continue with the briefing. "Okay, so we are running under the assumption that the Titans could still invade at any time?" 

"Yes, of course Your Majesty." Tonak replied, gesturing to the map of the village behind him. It displayed all of their defenses and options, and a smaller map to the side showed their underground bunker they could take refuge in should their defenses fail. "Precautions are being taken, and the safe house has already been fully stocked, enough to last the entire village several months." 

Beth nodded approvingly. "This is good news. I will have to inform the people of the situation, even though it's likely most of them already know of his leave. Has his lab been closed off?" 

"Yes ma'am. He closed it himself, but we managed to get in from above just to see what he left. He look a lot of his experiments with him." 

"Including the new one?" Beth really had tried to keep Shockwave's latest experiment a secret, but Tonak was her most trusted advisor, and he needed to know basically everything the Queen herself did. 

"Gone." Tonak confirmed. "Not a trace of its blueprints anywhere." 

"Shockwave hated blueprints, he knew someone might steal them and copy them if he left them lying about. I guess he was right." Beth crossed her arms. 

There was a commotion out in the hallway that stopped Beth's train of thought before she could ask her next question concerning the safety of her people, and she picked her legs up off the table and moved to open the door. 

The large double doors swung open before Beth even made it halfway there, and Tonak rose to his feet, drawing his sword, ready to defend the Queen. 

Crow gasped and shoved the two guards off him, swearing and cursing them to the afterlife and back. The guards looked at Beth, confused at what Crow was doing there and what they should do. 

Beth raised a hand and the guards stood down, retreating from the room and closing the large doors behind them. 

"Crow? And to what I do owe to the surprise?" Beth asked, motioning for Tonak to stand down as well. 

Crow exhaled sharply and straightened, adjusting his clothing and pushing his fallen lock of hair out of place. He moved past Beth and sat down exaggeratedly in Beth's former seat, and Beth fumed behind him. 

"Airachnid left me." Crow began, and Beth's eyebrows shut up to her hairline. "It was in the middle of her training hour and my meeting, but when I came out to watch her she was gone. One of my guards reported that she just took to the skies nearly forty five minutes before that and hadn't come back." 

Crow hung his head, sadness in his tone as he spoke again. "It's been two days, and she hasn't even contacted me." 

Beth and Tonak shared a look. "Shockwave left a few days ago as well, to go to Valeran. He left to try and get the Titans off our tail, perhaps Airachnid did the same." 

Crow scoffed. "That doesn't sound like either of them, no offense. Shockwave is an emotional void and Airachnid cares about little more than herself." There was a hope in his voice that was crushed beneath his cynical tone, but Beth heard it anyway. 

"Shockwave is _not_ an emotional void, he understands how we have come to care for him and he has come to care for us as well. At the very least understands the use of us on his side." Tonak defended, his grip tightening on the sword still clutched in his fist. 

"You say no, I say yes, it really is irrelevant so let's just move on." Crow placed his hands on his hips and set his mouth in a thin line. "What are we supposed to do now that our best forms of defense have left us?" 

"Iclic may have chosen to give its money to its theater and buildings, but Nova has spent our money well, building defenses and furthering our science." Tonak said, a complete lack of empathy in his voice for the leader. 

Crow raised an eyebrow. "It wasn't so much as your money as it was you got the smartest God they had, capable of creating such defenses with the simple price of being left alone most of the time." 

Beth pursed her lips. "Do your people know of the situation?" 

"Yes, of course they know. That's why I'm here, to try and work something out with you. Don't forget we were the original duo of leaders in the agreement before Valeran and Tonin had the ability to join."

"You're asking for your people to move here, aren't you?" Beth could see right through Crow's facade. 

Crow shrugged, but there was a gleam in his eye. "We may specialize in theater and infrastructure but we have our worth. We can bring enough food to supply ourselves for as long as we'll need to hide, so none of your people will be put at risk." 

"Your Majesty, please, do not allow Crow to -" Tonak started, but Beth held up a hand. 

Beth narrowed her eyes and maintained eye contact with the man standing across from her. "What game are you playing, Crow? Trying to steal our science again, are you?" 

Crow rolled his eyes. "That was _one time_ , by a little boy who didn't know that he was stealing highly classified intel. Cut me a break." Crow took a few steps closer, placing both hands on Beth's shoulders. "Sweetheart, you know deep down I hate it here, so I would only be here as a last resort. It would be in your best interest to let me and my people in." 

Beth was silent for a long time before she spoke up. "Why not follow Airachnid then? Being with the new Fire God of the prophecy is probably the safest place in the galaxy right now." 

Crow grinned. "I should ask you the same question, so my answer will be the same as yours." Crow replied evenly, and Beth looked away then, knowing they both had the same reason for not traveling to Valeran.

"Fine, Crow. Your people can take refuge here." Crow immediently began to celebrate and Tonak let out a groan. "But the _moment_ we're safe, you're gone. Understood?" 

"Oh, absolutely Beth!" Crow leaned forward and pressed an obnoxious kiss to Beth's cheek and made a break for the door before Tonak could slash him with his sword. "Thank you! You won't regret this!" 

Beth waited a few moments until she knew Crow was gone before she turned back around to Tonak and sighed. "I'm regretting it already." 

"I did tell you not to, your Majesty." Tonak joked, but he sat down again at the table. "We should probably plan out a new safety strategy now that we have double the people to care for." 

Beth sighed and sat down as well. "Yes, let's." 

They continued to work for several hours, and every moment of those many hours Beth's heart would yearn for Shockwave, and what he might have done in these moments. 

She only hoped that he knew what he was doing, and that his newest inventions would help the Fire God and the others take down the Titans for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ya know, Airachnid really is one of my least favorite characters, but I love to write her because she's such a badass like goddamn save some for the rest of us. And oh boi Wheeljack you're gonna die ;) 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed!! See you next time!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOHOO! Finally back in business
> 
> I hope you guys had an amazing holiday season! It was honestly a nice time for me to relax and get my mental health in order, and I was also able to get ahead on a lot of my projects. 
> 
> Sorry about the wait on this one, but here we are! I hope you guys enjoy and stay happy, healthy and safe! Enjoy!

"You don't have to fight Soundwave, Jackie. That's a lot in one day." 

Bulkhead's voice was soft and kind as he checked over Wheeljack's torso and arms for any wounds from his most recent fight with Arcee. They were sitting in a little dugout carved for this specific purpose, to check over one's wounds and relax after a hard fight. 

It felt so nice, to be close to Bulkhead and feel his digits roaming over his torso and arms in a way that wasn't sexual, but intimate nonetheless.

Bulkhead had praised Wheeljack for his wonderful fight, and told him what he could do differently and to watch out for things in the future so he wouldn't get surprise attacked by his next opponent. His kind words had quickly phased into trying to get him to back out of this fight, but Wheeljack didn't see the need to stand down. He was feeling more energized than he had for some time, and he told Bulkhead so. 

"I'm not gonna back down, Bulk." Wheeljack replied, letting Bulkhead lift his arm and check underneath for any scrapes or bruises. Aside from a few aches and scratches, he'd mostly come out of the fight unscathed, which was impressive in of itself. 

"It's just that Soundwave is a really tough fighter, Jackie, a little above your level if I'm being honest. If it was anyone else I think you could handle it but Soundwave isn't afraid to knock you around."

Wheeljack yanked his arm away, anger rippling through his field. "I think I'll be just fine. You don't gotta worry about me." Wheeljack stood up and began to walk towards the exit, his fists clenched at his side. 

"Jackie, stop."

Wheeljack, in fact, did not stop and continued marching out of the dugout and towards the arena floor, where Soundwave was waiting. The other God was standing as still as a statue, but his face shifted and focused directly on Wheeljack as he began to make his way towards him. 

Wheeljack did his very best to keep his face even; he slid his mask over the lower half of his face and narrowed his eyes for a little extra effect. Soundwave was probably one of the most intimating people Wheeljack had ever met, but he was doing his best to not let the silent mech know that. 

Screw it, he definitely knew. He knew _everything_. 

"Wheeljack!" Wheeljack was tugged backwards as he felt someone grab onto his wrist, yanking him back a few steps and forcing him to turn around. Wheeljack glared up at Bulkhead, allowing his mask to slide off his face. 

" _What_." Wheeljack demanded, unsure of why Bulkhead wanted him to stop. There was an almost scared look on Bulkhead's face and something akin to pity, and Wheeljack scoffed. "You don't want me to fight." 

"What? No, of course I do." Bulkhead chuckled awkwardly and replied a little too fast. 

"You don't want me to get better than. You'd rather have me meditating for hours and hide me from the fight, don't ya?" Wheeljack guessed, flexing his fist in Bulkhead's grasp. He wanted to pull away, but something about Bulkhead's thumb moving over the imprint on his arm forced him to stay. 

" _Of course_ I want you to get better, Jackie, but you've already fought a lot for one day and you don't have to fight again." Bulkhead explained, his voice both soft and pleading. 

Wheeljack's eyebrows shot up before he narrowed his eyes. "You don't think I can beat him, do you?" 

Bulkhead took a step back, taking Wheeljack with him. "What? Of course I do, it's just that you're tired and Soundwave is really, really good." 

"And I'm not?" 

"Wheeljack, no," Bulkhead covered his face with his free servo. "you're a newbie. You've been using your powers for effective combat for like, a _day_. Soundwave has been using his powers for _eons_. He's not afraid to go as hard as he can against you, either. I don't want you getting hurt." Bulkhead added, looking down. 

Wheeljack didn't say anything, glancing out to where Soundwave was still standing. If the mech was impatient or angry, Wheeljack couldn't tell - he couldn't tell when he was happy or sad or anything either, but he wasn't blowing anything up, so that was a good sign - but when Wheeljack glanced up at the other Gods on the sides of the arena he could tell _they_ were wondering what the hold up was. 

Wheeljack looked back up to Bulkhead and rolled his optics. "I'm no sparkling, Bulk, I'll be fine. If Soundwave beats me up a little bit, so what?" Wheeljack chuckled, but Bulkhead looked more angry. "I'll just have the Doc heal me." 

"It's not the physical injuries I'm worried about, Wheeljack." Bulkhead said sullenly. His hand dropped from Wheeljack's arm and Wheeljack's spark skipped a beat at the loss. "If you think you can take him, be my guest." 

Wheeljack was confused by the one-eighty Bulkhead just did, but if Bulkhead was letting him, Primus be damned he wasn't going to go. 

Wheeljack turned on his heel and put his battle mask back into place, walking until he was a good distance in front of Soundwave. 

Soundwave stared back at him, a dramatic blow of dust across his face making Wheeljack feel like he was in an old space cowboy movie, about to have the showdown of his life. 

"Any last words?" Wheeljack asked, his fists igniting with flames at his side. 

Soundwave didn't flinch, didn't make a sound. 

"Right. Silent type." Wheeljack smirked under his mask. 

He took a step to his right, and Soundwave copied him, taking a step to his left. They continued in this fashion for a while, circling each other and watching each other, waiting for the other to strike. 

Cliffjumper leaned over to Megatron. "What's our bet on this one, big boy?" He asked, one of his horns reflecting in the sunlight. 

Megatron smirked a little and formed a glass of wine for himself, along with a little food plate filled with meats and cheeses. It was clear he was enjoying this. "A hundred he lasts five minutes or more." 

Bulkhead blinked in surprise, his mouth dropping open a little. He wasn't sure if that was a sign of faith in Wheeljack from his trainer or outright against him, but it caught him off guard anyway. 

Cliffjumper seemed equally surprised, but he recovered faster and stuck out his hand. "A hundred to four minutes or less then." 

Cliffjumper was clearly against Wheeljack. There was a look of almost sadness hidden under his excitement to watch a this match, but perhaps that was it; he didn't expect a good fight. 

They shook on it and someone tapped Bulkhead's shoulder. "Did you warn him about Soundwave's mind games?" Arcee asked, Starscream sitting beside her. The spark mate of Soundwave looked amused by this whole thing as he watched his husband circle his prey with excitement, not even glancing at Bulkhead to offer support. 

Bulkhead sighed and shook his head. "Kind of, but do you really think that would have stopped him?" 

Arcee offered a smile. "He'll be fine. Soundwave won't do that much damage." She sounded hesitant to offer that reassurance but she said it anyway. 

"Yes he will." Starscream promised, glancing up at Bulkhead. "He won't kill him of course, maybe a serious injury or a black optic or something, but Soundwave is the perfect example of what the Titans are like. He can't be babied anymore." 

"Starscream, stop." 

"What? Am I wrong? No." Starscream replied, bitterness in his tone. He met Bulkhead's glare with confidence. "You know as well as I the stakes Wheeljack faces. At some point or another he's got to face what's coming to him. He can't fight the Titans if he doesn't understand them." 

Bulkhead growled before he could stop himself. "So Soundwave is going to trap him in some reality instead of fight him?!" He near shouted. 

Starscream looked back to the fight. "He'll do whatever Wheeljack gives him an opportunity for." 

Starscream ended the conversation by turning back to watch the two warriors circle each other like predator and prey, and Arcee eventually looked back too, albeit a little reluctantly. 

Bulkhead looked back as well after attempting to drill holes in Starscream's helm, and prayed to Primus that Wheeljack would give Soundwave no such opportunity. 

Wheeljack halted his movement, his fists still on fire in front of him. Soundwave stopped as well, his tentacles twitching as they extended from his chest. 

Wheeljack had half a mind to be disgusted as the little pincers at the ends of Soundwave's tentacle _things_ sent small sparks of electricity out the end of them, but he kept his emotions off his face as best he could.

The white mech glanced up at Bulkhead for a split moment, their optics meeting with strong emotions on both sides. Bulkhead's were pleading; there was still time for Wheeljack to step down. Wheeljack's were determined; he would be alright. 

Wheeljack looked away.

Wheeljack struck first, to no one's surprise. 

He wisely kept his distance, a little out of character for him but he had no idea what to expect from the God with no face. He sent a fire ball to center then one of the left and another to the right, to block Soundwave off as he attempted to dodge. 

Soundwave twisted out of the way of the first, swerving sharply out of the way of the second and third blasts as well. He was light on his feet, seeming to glide instead of step across the arena floor. 

Soundwave had his back turned for a few moments as he swerved out of the way of the fourth fireball, and Wheeljack took the opportunity and launched himself into the air, extending his fire out into his long swords once again. 

He resisted the urge to cry out, trying to keep the element of surprise for as long as possible. He was _meters_ away from Soundwave's head when the God noticed where he was, and he managed to flip out of the way in the nick of time. 

Wheeljack smirked to himself as he noticed a small slash of paint coming off of Soundwave's shoulder from where Wheeljack had been lucky enough to land a blow. 

Wheeljack hit the floor and kept rolling, running after Soundwave and beginning to strike out with his swords. Soundwave danced out of the way, bending and twisting and occasionally lifting his arm to block, but he never attacked back. 

Wheeljack continued to push him around, throwing in some kicks and fire blasts to try and make Soundwave slip up, but the God always seemed to just _know_ when and where a blast was coming and would dance out of the way, his limbs tucked close to this body. 

Eventually Wheeljack tired of the offensive and stopped his attack, and Soundwave stopped dancing after the last blast was fired, lifting his visor to match Wheeljack's. 

"What game are you playin', Mr. Personality?" Wheeljack muttered, shuffling his feet as he opened it up for Soundwave to make the next move.

He had a sinking feeling that he would just end up attacking again; Soundwave seemed more than content to stand there all day and watch him, but Wheeljack bid his time anyway. If nothing else, it gave him a break. 

"What is he doing now?" Knock Out cried out, destroying the silence of the tense arena. "If I wanted to be bored to death I would let Starscream ramble about his latest book. Soundwave's battles are supposed to be interesting." 

Bulkhead sent him a glare as the red God crossed his arms and slumped in his seat, motioning for Breakdown to continue with the fan he had in his servos. Bulkhead couldn't help but roll his eyes and looked back down to the fight. 

"Whenever you're ready, chump!" Wheeljack yelled to his opponent. "Unless you're too /scared/ to fight someone half your age and talent. 'Fraid you'll beat me too easily?" 

"Ah yes, taunt one of the most powerful Gods in the family. Expert move, Wheeljack." Starscream cooed sarcastically. "We'll see how that ends." 

"Is Soundwave fool enough to fall for the bait?" Arcee challenged and Starscream growled before he relaxed and chuckled. 

"On the contrary, Wheeljack is already playing the fool by taking Soundwave's bait." 

Wheeljack's optics widened as Soundwave took one quiet step forward, then two, and soon enough Soundwave was running towards him at full speed, his tentacles pushing out of his chest and grazing the ground.

"Whoa!" Wheeljack tilted his head back, his right hand supporting him on the ground. Soundwave flew right over him, their plating inches apart as Soundwave soared over him. 

It felt like everything was moving in slow motion: Wheeljack watching Soundwave fly right past him, the tentacles coming closer and closer to his face. 

With a grunt of effort, Wheeljack lifted his left hand and created a fire blast of protection around him, saving him from the tentacle that was centimetres from his face and caused Soundwave to fly off at an awkward angle, spiraling in the air until he handed on his feet in likely a completely different place than he intended. 

Wheeljack straightened, breathing a little heavy from his spark beating twice its normal rate. He still allowed a smirk to come to his face and he dropped his battle mask, a puff of fire and smoke appearing from his tongue. 

"Now we're talking." Wheeljack praised and lunged forward, one hand forming a fire sword and the other firing blasts at Soundwave once again. 

The God straightened as well, stepping back ever so slightly and prepared to defend against the crazed mech's attacks once again. 

Wheeljack was excited - and extremely terrified - to find that Soundwave was not only on the defensive this time, but he was striking back at Wheeljack too. For every attack Wheeljack gave, Soundwave gave it right back, striking out with his tentacles or attempting to use his other powers and push Wheeljack up in the air. 

Wheeljack knew what it felt like to be analyzed, and he could tell Soundwave was carefully calculating each and every movement Wheeljack did. His response time, the average time it took to make a fire ball or strike with his sword, where Wheeljack liked to strike most. It was an incredible feat of multitasking Wheeljack only wished he could accomplish, but Soundwave was doing it effortlessly. 

Soundwave put his knowledge to use after Wheeljack pulled a double attack, striking high at Soundwave's face before attempting lower at his gut. Soundwave leaned to the left and drew his hand back, pressing his digits together to make a point.

Wheeljack cried out in pain as Soundwave slashed across his stomach with his long digits, and Wheeljack was surprised to see the God had drawn blood from his his fingertips. 

Shock mixed with fear settled in Wheeljack's gut as he realized _he_ was completely on the defensive now. 

Soundwave began to attack him as he pleased, forming a steady pattern that didn't have a rhythm or dynamic. Soundwave would strike low, then high, then middle, then wherever he damned pleased. 

Wheeljack knew that he couldn't carry on like this; Soundwave's tentacles were poised and ready to strike the moment the opportunity presented itself, and he was not in the mood to get electrocuted today. 

Wheeljack waited for the right moment before he dropped to his knees, spinning on his right and sticking out his left, swiping Soundwave's legs right out from under him. 

Once again, Wheeljack's world slowed down as he jumped up again, rising in the air and bringing Soundwave up with him with a fire blast underneath his back. Wheeljack pushed himself a few feet higher than Soundwave, before he extended his left foot and let gravity do the rest. 

Wheeljack's foot collided with Soundwave's stomach and send them tumbling to the Earth together, energon falling up in the air from both their wounds. 

The ground was coming towards them, faster and faster, closer and closer -

Wheeljack felt the tentacle connect with the back of his neck, but he didn't have time to react before he could feel himself get sucked out of his own mind, his screams silenced by the black void surrounding him. 

Wheeljack coughed and coughed, struggling to regain his footing and his breath. 

He was inhaling smoke and lots of it, which wasn't a great help. He swatted at the air in an attempt to clear it with very little success, but it was enough for him to stand up straight and look around. 

He wasn't on Valeran anymore. 

Everyone was gone. He was standing in an empty city, the streets clean and clear. Everything was made of metal, sparkling and glowing in the setting sun. 

"That was a most impressive display of power, Wheeljack." 

Wheeljack turned on his heel and was surprised to see Linx sitting there, his scales reflecting in the sunlight. His amber eyes showed he meant it; he was impressed. 

Wheeljack crossed his arms. "I'd've finished it, but no thanks to you." 

Linx's eyes narrowed. "And why is this my fault?" 

"You pulled me outta the fight. And I'm happy to see you too, but I almost had him. I would've loved to see the look on Bulk's face when I took on Soundwave and won." Wheeljack laughed a little. "He didn't think I could do it, ya know." 

Linx tilted his head. "Wheeljack, I didn't pull you out. Soundwave took you out, with his powers of false reality." 

Wheeljack stopped, his spark dropping. "Reality?" He looked around, and noticed absentmindedly he was on Cybertron. The scenery looked familiar to him now, but so different. "Why did no one tell me?" 

"Bulkhead tried," Linx rolled his eyes. "but you're so stubborn you fought anyway and didn't listen. He told you the physical injuries were not the ones to worry about, but you fought anyway." 

"He could've been more specific!" Wheeljack fired back angrily. This was _not_ his own fault. Bulkhead was a big boy, he should know beating around the bush was not the right idea, especially when it came to someone's life. "He should have _said_ that Mr. Personality could take me outta the physical world with a single strike from his creepy crawlers!" 

Linx rolled his eyes and stood up, turning around as he spoke. "You tell him that kid when you wake up."

"Wait no, you take me outta here, don't you?" Wheeljack demanded, trying to follow Linx away but realized his feet were frozen in place. 

"I have no control here." Linx said, sounding a little sad. "Soundwave will take you out after you've seen what you needed to see." 

"See what I need to see? What kind of riddle is that?" Wheeljack demanded again, feeling the smoke around him start to become thicker. 

"The not fun kind." Linx replied and Wheeljack turned slowly around. 

The city was up in flames, every building scorching and collapsing in on itself. There were figures fighting all over the place, using their powers to try and take over the other. 

Wheeljack could do nothing but watch as he watched dark, horrible figures snuff the light out of the Gods. 

Something awoke in him in that moment. The feeling of needing to push away the stories and demands of those around them melted all around him like ice, replaced in his mind with the need to do something. 

"No. Soundwave's not gonna pull me out. I'm gonna do something about this." 

Wheeljack knew deep down this wasn't real, but he didn't care. He needed this. The world needed this. 

He felt his eyes begin to glow and fire burned on his fists, and instead of running away from the danger, he ran right towards it. 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Shockwave wouldn't admit to anyone in a million years, but Wheeljack impressed him. Not many could stand against Soundwave and actually manage to land some blows, but Wheeljack had done that, and as a relatively new rookie all things considered. 

Like all his emotions, he hid his surprise well when Soundwave managed to get the upper hand at the very end, sending Wheeljack into whatever distant reality he deemed fit. Wheeljack's body never hit the ground, because Soundwave managed to catch the limp mech in his arms and land on his feet, his tentacle still attached to the back of the white mech's neck. 

Soundwave placed Wheeljack down and stood beside him, obviously conducting the reality and forcing Wheeljack to see whatever he wanted him to see. Wheeljack twitched on the floor and his mouth would allow a few choice words escape, and Shockwave could only imagine the images he was being forced to watch. 

Most likely a memory of some kind. 

Shockwave cast a glance to Bulkhead, who had jumped over the side and was running towards Wheeljack and Soundwave, looking about ready to clobber the mech in his visor. Starscream and Arcee followed close behind, likely to prevent him from doing just that. 

"Cliffjumper, I believe you owe me a hundred." Megatron's voice broke into Shockwave's thoughts. He watched in amusement as Cliffjumper grumbled and coughed up a gold sack of a hundred coins and slapped it into Megatron's hand reluctantly. "Pleasure doing business with you." 

Cliffjumper grumbled before turning himself into Megatron and mimicking him for good measure before he jumped down to walk over by his spark mate. 

Cliffjumper shifted back and paused beside the shorter blue femme, who was looking down at Wheeljack with a confused look. Cliffjumper tilted his head and crossed his arms, a little confused as to what was so interesting. 

Soundwave had removed the tentacle from the back of Wheeljack's neck, but he was still lying flat on his back, his optics closed but nowhere near relaxed, his whole body twitching every few moments. Bulkhead had pulled the mech into his lap and was just attempting to be comforting until he woke up. 

"Uh, Sound man, hasn't he been down for a while?" Cliffjumper asked. Usually Soundwave didn't keep people under his false realities for longer than a minute or two - Cliffjumper knew from experience a minute in the real world felt like hours in a false reality - as to not cause permanent damage. But Wheeljack had been down for several minutes now, and it was clearly taking a toll on him. 

Bumblebee appeared at Bulkhead's side, beeping comfortably to the taller mech. 

"I have attempted…to pull him out." Soundwave's recordings explained. "But he…has refused my help." 

"Refused?" Arcee echoed. "How can anyone refuse to be taken out of your reality?" 

"I am no longer in control. Wheeljack must…get out himself." Soundwave explained and walked away, as if the fate of their future was thrashing on the ground. 

Bulkhead stared after him in shock, and Bumblebee placed a hand on his shoulder. ::I'll help him, Bulk. Let's get him back to my temple and I can try to get in his mind:: 

Bulkhead nodded grateful and stood up with Wheeljack in his arms and began to walk away, Bumblebee following close behind. 

Back under the pavilion, Shockwave walked closer to Megatron and Optimus, who were discussing the aftermath of the little fight. 

"Optimus, Megatron," Shockwave paused as the two Gods looked back at him. Optimus's eyes were serious while Megatron was more understanding; an unusual emotion on both of them. "there is something I wish to show you. If you would follow me back to my laboratory." 

Megatron chuckled, his expression light and almost warm. This was most logically a combination of both Wheeljack performing well in the arena and Soundwave showing his impressive powers once again. 

"It does my spark well to know that our time apart has not caused you to slow down on your inventions and scientific discoveries to further our cause." Megatron chuckled, falling into step beside Shockwave, Optimus taking his place on Shockwave's right.

They walked outside of the arena before transforming into their Predacon forms, flying fast and swiftly to Shockwave's newly constructed temple. They landed and shifted, allowing Shockwave to enter first, leading the way down the stairs to his new lab. 

Optimus had visited Shockwave's lab on Cybertron many times in a single day, every time entering with new hopes that Shockwave created a new invention to help stop the Titans advancements. Usually he was met with satisfaction with his fellow God's work, and he was almost always able to put Shockwave's works to good use. 

He hopes this time would not be the exception. 

Shockwave stopped once they reached the very back of the lab, where there was a large, glass container filled with a strange yellow liquid and a sleeping form of something that looked so incredibly familiar. 

Megatron made the connection first, taking a step forward for a closer look. "Shockwave, is that a God?"

Shockwave nodded once. "Yes. In its Predacon form; I have created new life." 

"You have done the same as Primus," Optimus whispered, absolutely shocked at this revelation. He too stepped closer and raised a hand to touch the glass, trying to look at the entire beast inside. "you have created the impossible." 

"Nothing is impossible." Shockwave argued easily. His voice was monotonous, but Optimus could hear the pride seeping into his own chest from Shockwave's power filtering through. 

"Explain it to us, Shockwave. Tell us the tale of this beast, how it came to be." Megatron asked and Shockwave looked up at his newest creation. 

"This is Project-Predacon. I began this the moment I arrived on Nova, and kept it a secret in the years since. I originally meant to only create a power source we could all derive from, a power source the Titans would not be able touch or use. But then it developed into a new life, and I created a new form of energon - Synthetic Energon, which is what the creature is floating in now. It is very similar to real energon in that it can provide sustenance and power, but also additional properties such as healing and increased energy - that could support a being similar to us. 

With a little addition of my own life source and the new energon, Project-Predacon grew into a entirely new being." 

Megatron looked pleased with this news. "So what exactly should we expect from this new being, my dear Shockwave?"

Shockwave looked back at the container. "That is a matter I am not at liberty to give an opinion on at the moment." Shockwave admitted. "Project-Predacon can yield a variety of mixed results: it could be the weapon we need to stand a fighting chance against the Titans as they have no prepared for something like this, or it may deem us unworthy of its power and leave us to fend for ourselves." 

Optimus paused. "You believe it will have free will? You did not create it to obey you completely?" 

Shockwave nodded once, placing a servo on the glass of the container. "Once again I am inclined to remind you that I do know what results will be obtained from this project. I have attempted to code its DNA with a conscience, but I have never attempted to create a life on this large of a scale. I have worked to make it as similar to us as possible, and given that I inscribed some of my own power into it, it may end up acting very similar to me." 

"Ah yes, just what we need; another Shockwave." Megatron obviously didn't mean any offense by that statement and Shockwave knew it, and he also knew what Megatron was actually saying. He inhaled sharply, closing his eyes before he exhaled slowly, trying to clear his mind. 

"When do you expect this to be ready?" Megatron asked, stepping beside Shockwave and placing a servo beside the God's own. The creature did not respond, floating in the light colored liquid, no biolights igniting or plating flaring. 

"I expect soon, perhaps within the week." Shockwave affirmed, and Optimus and Megatron both let out a breath of relief. "Before the Titans arrive, I suspect." 

"And this Synthetic Energon you have created. Can we use that as well or is it only suitable for this Project-Predacon?" Megatron asked next. 

"I have not performed a test on any living subject. I meant to begin to inject myself with small doses to test its usefulness, but I was otherwise distracted by Obscurity informing of…less than pleasant news." Shockwave turned away from his project, reaching into a drawer and pulling out a smaller vile of the Synthetic Energon. "The formula is completely stable, there is no reason it cannot be used on one of us. But I do not know of any side effects of this form of energy because I created it. There have been no past studies for me to look into." 

Optimus stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder, his emotions of 'support' and 'pride' overflowing in Shockwave's mind. He sent out a quick feeling of gratitude before pulling his emotions tight against himself. 

"Thank you, Shockwave. You have done well." Optimus praised and Shockwave saw Megatron nodding out of the corner of his optic. "I know you expected more from yourself, but this is more than enough good news." 

"Indeed." Megatron agreed. He approached Shockwave again, his hands behind his back. "Is there anything else you wish to tell us about?" 

Shockwave thought for a moment, digging through his neural net to make sure he had nothing else to report. "I will continue to work on both this project and others, to help us prepare for when the Titans arrive." 

"Thank you, Shockwave. It is so good to have you back." Megatron said sincerely. 

Megatron and Optimus said their farewells and they turned to walk up the stairs out of Shockwave's lab, but Optimus turned before they could get very far. 

"Shockwave, do you think it could be possible that the spies could have ties to MECH? They have been against them for some time and I'm certain that they would aid the Titans, given the opportunity." Optimus proposed. 

Shockwave pondered that, his servos resting on his work desk. "I do not know enough about MECH to determine if they could have any ties with the spy. It is definitely a possibility, but Beth did not respect them and neither did Tonak." 

"Who in Primus's name is Tonak?" Megatron raised an optic ridge. 

"Beth's closest friend and advisor. He would defend Nova to his last breath; I have utter faith in him." Shockwave assured him. Shockwave having utter faith in someone was saying something; he didn't believe in many people other than himself. He looked back to Optimus. "If it was safe to contact Beth I would, but I cannot do that in full faith that the Titans will not hear our message and target her anyway, and then my departure would have been for nothing." 

"Not for nothing, Shockwave." Megatron promise, one of his pedes on the first stair upward. "You are helping to save us all." 

Both Gods nodded one last time to Shockwave before turning and walking back up the stairs, and Shockwave's antenna twitched as their emotions vanished from his mind; they were out of range. 

Shockwave gripped the edge of his desk tighter, his head falling down against his neck. 

"I only hope that this time, my help will be enough." 

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

"But what if you disengage the -"

"If you say to disengage the gravity I'm going to throw you out the window and you can fly the rest of the way to Valeran. You know that's not the problem, Skyfire. Think with your head for Primus's sake." 

Skyfire pursed his lips and rolled his eyes, fighting the urge to slap Brainstorm on the back of the head for being so goddamn stubborn. That was Brainstorm's style, after all, annoying as it may be. 

Their journey on the Iter had been thus far successful, with little to no bumps in the road. The crew was managing to get along surprisingly well given half of them not knowing each other very well, and it seemed as though they were on track to rescue Wheeljack and bring him home. 

A while back they had a small run in with a alien patrol outside of their planet and had been fired upon by the patrol ship. They had taken minimal damage given the Iter's amazing shielding, but now Brainstorm and Skyfire were attempting to fix a small issue with overheating in the engine room. 

"Think about it, Brainstorm. The engine is overheating in the direction of the gravity controls. If you turn off the gravity for a short time, we will have no issues moving forward. In fact, we will go faster." Skyfire explained. 

Deep down Skyfire knew that Brainstorm knew that's what they needed to do, but Skyfire also knew that Brainstorm would have to come to that conclusion on his own, if at all. Or maybe Perceptor could convince him of what was right in that moment if Skyfire couldn't do it himself, but Perceptor was preoccupied with talking to Impactor and Springer about what to do when they actually got to Valeran, so he probably wouldn't be much help for a few hours yet. 

Skyfire rose onto his pedes and patted Brainstorm gently on the shoulder before he turned and walked away. "I'm going to go find Kup, you keep working on this problem. Just remember, the gravity modulator is the big green button!" 

He heard Brainstorm utter a few curse words at him as he walked away, but Skyfire ignored him and walked out the door. 

The walk up to the commander center of the Iter was a peaceful one, Skyfire free to clear his thoughts and think about nothing as he walked the clear hallways. At one point he passed by the cafeteria where the others were meeting to discuss battle plans and 'what ifs' for when they landed on the surface. 

No one had ever even been to Valeran before, so they had no way of knowing whether or not there were any natives on the planet or if it was just open and wild terrain. Wheeljack's life signal still remained unclear and clouded, not picking up on any scanners even as they moved closer to the coordinates given to them. 

Skyfire reached the bridge of the ship and entered, the large doors parting for him easily and closing swiftly behind him. 

Skyfire had flown on few ships in his life, but he could still recognize a beautiful piece of machinery if there ever was one. The Iter was the perfect example: brand new with all the latest technology, style and everything that had an engineer or captain drooling for the chance to come on board. 

How Kup managed to get his servos on such a high class vessel was beyond Skyfire, but he knew that Kup had dozens of favors he could pull from people all over the galaxy. No doubt a few of those went into obtaining this ship. 

Kup himself was sitting in the captain's seat, his right arm perched on the arm rest and a cigar pinched between his digits. He sat in almost complete silence, the only sound the humming of the engine beneath their feet and the beeping of the computer systems as they worked on navigating the ship through autopilot. 

Skyfire stood beside him, taking a few moments to look out the front of the ship, taking in the stars as they flew past. They were moving extremely fast, but they could be moving faster if Brainstorm got his head out of his aft and fixed the gravity issue. 

Surprisingly, it was Kup who broke the silence. His voice was still as gruff and a little rude-sounding as always, but there was a hidden tenderness and excitement that lay beneath it. "Wheeljack's the toughest kid I know. Raised him myself, I did. Taught him everythin' I know about everythin' there is to know." 

Skyfire smiled, keeping his gaze fixed on the stars. "He is one of my favorite engineers in our field, but don't tell Percy or Brainstorm that." 

Kup brought the cigar to his lips and took a long drag of it. He offered it up to Skyfire who politely declined. Kup shrugged and took another drag for himself. 

"Taught him a lot of self defense too. I always told 'him if he was gonna be travelin' that much he needs to be ready for creepers tryin' to pull somethin' on him." Kup said next, his gaze also fixed on the stars. 

Skyfire pulled his optics away, glancing down at Kup. The older mech was completely still, but Skyfure could almost feel his spark pounding in his chest. 

"Kup, you know Wheeljack is fine, and will remain fine until we get there. He knows how to handle himself because you taught him to, and he's got basic common sense. He's not going to go looking for danger." Skyfire tried reassuring him. 

"Wheeljack searching for danger is a sentence that I use way too much." Kup chuckled. "He has a knack for getting himself into places he shouldn't be, but he always needs help gettin' outta them, even if he doesn't say so." 

Skyfire's gravity controlers in his pedes activated as the gravity was turned off. Kup huffed in his chair but he didn't budge, the sparks under his foot evidence that his own systems had kicked in. A few loose parts fell up onto the ceiling, others floating around aimlessly since there was nothing to hold them down. 

The gravity was quickly turned back on and Skyfire lurched backwards a little as the engine gained more energy, the stars zooming past twice as fast.

"Brainy finally figure out the problem, then?" Kup chuckled again. Skyfire laughed. 

They stood in silence for a few moments, just taking in the scenery. Neither of them felt any pressure to say a word, content to sit in silence for the time being. 

"He never mentioned his visions to ya?" Kup asked again. Skyfire sighed and shook his head. 

"He seemed…off in the days before he left, but he always was a little out of it before he went on trips so I didn't suspect anything would be wrong with him. I don't see him outside of work very often, but I did offer before he left and he turned me down. I had been hoping to celebrate the creation of our new Cybermatter with him since Perceptor and Brainstorm would be nothing but drunk and competing against each other on the pool table. Wheeljack would have been nice company." Skyfire remembered asking Wheeljack if he had any plans and being genuinely disappointed when the shorter mech had turned him down in favor of exploring the galaxy, but he hadn't taken it personally then and he still wasn't going to now. 

Kup shook his head. "There was somethin' he wasn't sayin' before he left, and I'm willing to bet my entire stash of cigars that him goin' missing has somethin' to do with how he was actin' before." Kup sounded confident and Skyfire was willing to concur with his bet. 

"Well, we'll just have to find out when we find him right?" Skyfure proposed, and a smile came to Kup's face then. 

"I'm gonna beat his ass for causin' me to get more wrinkles in my old age, but then I'll be happy ta see 'im." Kup promised, taking a short breath of his cigar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh ohhh Jackie's stuck but at least he's got Linx, right? 
> 
> And just a little Kup and Skyfire, because I love them
> 
> Anyway, hope you all enjoyed and see you next time!


End file.
